HR Industry News

Stress: the silent epidemic

— 18 April 2007 —

Millions of workers are likely to be suffering from depression and panic attacks because of stress at work according to new research.

An online poll of 3,300 workers by the Work Life Balance Centre and the universities of Keele, Coventry and Wolverhampton found that two-thirds said they had been made ill by work.

Nearly half of those surveyed claimed they suffered from depression, while 43 per cent said they had to deal with anxiety or panic attacks.

“Much of work-based stress can start off by being non-clinical” comments Paul Avis of Ceridian. “Interpersonal conflict and over-promotion can lead to breakdowns in the workplace which can then ultimately become clinical unless they are resolved proactively and professionally.”

The research also found that eight out of 10 people admitted having a problem juggling the competing demands of work and home and that many people work more than their contracted hours. In fact, one in 10 notched up at least 49 hours a week, yet only one in 100 was contracted to do so.

Ceridian’s LifeWorks EAP service is built on the premise that home and work life invariably spill into, and impact, on one another.  Helping employees address these competing demands is as important as being able to intervene on a more clinical basis and our call volumes reflect this.

According to Julie Hurst, director of the Work Life Balance Centre, depression and anxiety was now a silent epidemic in the workplace, yet much could be done to reduce both problems.

She urges all employers to look carefully at these issues and arrange access to the appropriate forms of help, saying it’s in the long-term interests of the business to support healthy, and ultimately productive, employees.

One should not underestimate this business dimension: areas such as increased morale and productivity are matched by impacts such as reduced insurance premium costs so employers should consider investing to save as a start point.Paul Avis, Ceridian

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