Workplace Stress: New Report
Further to our last article on the issue of workplace stress and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new report by GetApp has found that workers mental health has declined by 14% as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In their survey of 1000 UK employees, GetApp found that:-
- Whereas 66% of workers reported having good mental heath pre-pandemic, this had dropped to 52% by February 2022, a fall of 14%
- During the worst of the pandemic, those reporting good mental health fell to a lowpoint of 42%, a drop of 24%
- 22% of workers report that their workplace stress is worse, compared with last year
- 19% of employees fear catching Covid-19 at work, although increased workload was the main cause of workplace stress (40%)
- The most common symptom of workplace stress is insomnia (31%), followed by persistent worry (28%)
- Job satisfaction has fallen overall by 24%, motivation by 26%
The report concludes that: "It is clear that the pandemic has taken its toll on....mental health......Whilst stress wasn’t solely caused by COVID-19, the pandemic did play its part in worsening workplace mental health.......there have been some significant health consequences from this increase in workplace stress, which companies must be prepared to address....having a strong plan to address this has never been more important."
A new report published by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) also confirmed that the pandemic has significantly worsed workplace stress. Indeed, the HSE stated in their report that “449,000 reported that…[their workplace stress condition]… was caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Moreover, in research conducted by Dr Eric Shiu, he found that the Covid-19 pandemic had in itself created new sources of workplace stress, such as job security concerns, a fear of catching Covid-19 at work, money worries, stress caused by home working, and problems caused by having to separate personal matters and work issues whilst working from home.
Four-Day Working Week Gaining Support
Support for a 4 day working week is growing amongst employers according to new research from the Henley Business School, with the Covid-19 pandemic playing a key role in changing attitudes.
The new research, entitled 'The four-day week: The pandemic and the evolution of flexible-working', found that 65% of employers are placing some or all of their workers on a 4 day working week, compared with just 50% back in 2019 pre-pandemic. Those participating in the survey stated that the move to a 4 day working week had yielded savings of £104 billion.
The principal appeal for employees of a 4 day working week in terms of flexible working was a shorter working week for the same salary, combined with choosing which day to take off (69%), with most selecting Fridays (61%).
Nevertheless, the Associate Professor in Strategic Human Resource Management at the Henley Business School, Dr Rita Fontinha, recommended that employers "should start slow" when implementing a 4 day working week. Dr Fontinha stated: "Starting with a particular department or subsidiary for a limited time can be a good way to test the water and assess the preliminary results of this change, making sure that managers and employees are all on the same page."
Dr Fontinha added: "Organisations are only just beginning to understand what impact the pandemic has had on their business and management culture. Responding positively to the call for greater flexibility could be of huge benefit to the workplace and the greatest silver lining to come from a pandemic that has brought such hardship to many. Businesses need to better understand their employees’ desires and aspirations, to enable them to recruit the best people and to keep those people happier and more productive in the workplace.”
