Bosses can bust workplace stress
07 November 2001
LONDON By health-newswire.com reporters The stress and absenteeism currently rife in UK workplaces could be avoided if companies allowed employees greater control over their work, says an organizational psychologist.
Dr Frank Bond, a chartered occupational psychologist and
lecturer at City University in London, told Health Media that bosses imposing
tasks on people without consultation is the key cause of stress and anxiety at
work.
Enabling employees to have control over how their job is defined – including
the job they do and the way in which they perform their job – could,
therefore, reduce stress levels, he says.
Dr Bond came to his conclusion after studying the effects of reorganizing
aspects of employees’ working styles in a central government department over a
one-year period.
When employees were able to take more control over their work, there were lower
incidences of absenteeism and improved mental health, Dr Bond found.
Speaking on National Stress Awareness Day, Dr Bond said that other ways in which
organizations could eliminate stress from the workplace included letting
employees use their own initiative and giving them opportunities to develop new
skills.
Supportive colleagues also made for a happier and more productive workforce,
said Dr Bond. He said bosses should encourage socializing and some office
banter.
Finally, he said, bosses should identify staff with conflicting job roles and minimize
these incompatible duties. “For example, the director of a company has to
motivate people, so he or she may wish to leave disciplinary matters to a
deputy,” he said.
Dr Bond’s suggestions follow a study by the International Stress Management
Association that found more than half of the UK’s employees experienced stress
at work in the last 12 months. Of these, 57 per cent said their stress levels
increased over this time and 20 per cent needed professional help for their
problem.
© Health Media Ltd 2001
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