Why is it important to manage stress?
There are a number of good reasons why it makes sense to manage work related stress effectively:
- recent statistics have confirmed that work related stress is widespread in the UK working population and is not just confined to particular sectors or high risk jobs or industries.
- stress is also responsible for a large proportion of alleged cases of ill health caused by work; depression and anxiety are the most common stress-related complaints seen by GPs, affecting 20% of the working population of the UK
- over 10 million working days are typically lost to stress each year in the UK
- stress can also:
- affect a workers commitment to work
- affect performance
- cause accidents due to human error
- lead to staff turnover and intention to leave
- lead to poor attendance levels
- impact on staff recruitment and retention
- affect organisational image and reputation
- lead to litigation
As such, the University has both a legal and moral duty to take reasonable measures to protect staff from the adverse effects of stress that may arise from work activities