The Costs of Occupational Stress
Stress at work costs the UK economy over £7 billion each year (1). Here are some of the ways stress can hurt a business:
1. Increased absence (including the cost of providing temporary cover)
Work-related stress is the leading cause of employee absence through injury or ill health (2). Each reported case of stress leads to an average of 28.5 days lost (3). A total of 12.8 million working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety in 2004/5. (4) Stress affects employees' health, including 'fatigue, tension, depression and anxiety, as well as a number of other syptoms.’ (5)
2. Decreased productivity and morale
Research shows 83 per cent of employers believe stress is interfering with productivity levels (6). 64% of public sector workers and 48% in the private sector complain of stress. In comparison, 25% complain of long hours. (7)
3. Increased litigation
There has been a sharp increase in the amount of stress-related damage claims made by employees. Stress related litigation rose from 516 cases in 2001 to 6248 in 2002 (8).
Legal Responsibility
There is no specific law governing workplace stress, however under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, it is every employer’s duty to protect the health (including the mental health) of their employees at work. This includes taking steps to ensure that employees do not suffer stress-related illness as a result of their work. Stress related ill health (whether work-related or not) could be considered a disability and as such, under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995, employers have a responsibility to make reasonable adjustments to assist such an individual within their job
Focus on: Stress in a Call/Contact Centre environment
Research has shown that call/contact centres are one of the most stressful occupational environments (9). This is hardly surprising, considering nearly two out of five people admit to shouting and swearing at call centre agents (10). Even when call centre employees only constitute 25% of a company’s full-time employees, they account for more than 60% of its short-term disability claims and medical leave absences (11).
A high-stress call centre will have higher staff turnover (including the additional costs of recruitment, induction and training of replacement staff). Stress has been cited as a major reason for call agents to leave a call centre job (12). High staff turnover not only costs directly, but also impacts on the quality of service: a new call agent is only 16% as productive as an experienced agent (13).
Emtell has designed EOSS to lower the cost-impact of stress on your business. Can you afford not to manage stress effectively?
References
- 1. TUC report, 2004
- 2. CIPD study, 2004.
- 3. HSE report: Work-related stress. A short guide, 2001.
- 4. HSE website
- 5. HSE 'Bristol Stress and Health at Work', 2000
- 6. 'Stress in the UK workplace’, Personnel Today/HSE
- 7. TUC repor, 2004t
- 8. Independent, 8th December 2003.
- 9. Johnson, S., Cooper, C., Cartwright, S., Donald, I., Taylor, P., Millet, C. 2005. The experience of work-related stress across occupations. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 20 (2).
- 10. Canvasse Opinion/Merchants report, 2006.
- 11. MetLife Report, 2005.
- 12. DTI Report: The UK Contact Centre Industry, 2004.
- 13. Data Vantage Report: Dial Skills for Success, 2005.
