Health and Stress at Work - Research Paper Example

? Health and Stress at Work July 12, Stress at work has been identified as a major cause of costs incurred byemployers concerning avoidable issues. This is because employees suffering from work related stress tend to have a number of issues that affect the employers directly. Concerning productivity, legal liabilities, client loss and poor image, employers tend to bear the cost due to inattention to the needs of their employees and their optimum working conditions. Optimum working conditions in this case refer to a supportive environment by both the employer and other members of staff. Due to the increase of these work related stress issues, new studies have come up allowing people to find out more about the causes, preventive measures, as well as the cost through which an employer has to go. In general, the major concern for the employer is the performance of the employee as it holds the key to all other costs borne by the employer. Introduction Stress is a term used, in modern times to mean experiences that persons go through, that are caused by pressure or demands on the person and that affect the person’s capabilities to keep up with their expected duties (Blaug et al, 2007). Lately, workplaces have turned in to places where employees accumulate stress owing to their jobs and their employers. This is owing to globalization, use of new information and communication technologies, as well as the diversification of the work place. This is in the form of having older and younger people working in the same place, as well as migrants from different places coming to work in the same place (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2007). One of the significant causes of work related stress is the increased level of demands placed on employers onto their employees. This is in the form of increased work intensity and reduced autonomy to exercise one’s skills in performing their jobs and duties (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2007). Moreover, due to the increased pressure, learning opportunities are curtailed leading to frustration among employees and hostility towards their employers (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2007). In addition, on reduced freedom levels at the work place, sharing of opinion leads to work related, as employees also have opinions that should be listened to, but do not get an opportunity to air them (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2007). Concerning social support among workers, poor relations between workers and other workers, as well as employers lead to stress. This is because, workers feel isolated and out of touch with those that should be in a position to help them. Therefore, instead of having an ideal working environment, workers end up in uncomfortable situations with fellow colleagues. Therefore, because of the above reasons, a number of consequences are bound to arise affecting the individual suffering from work related stress, the workmates, the employing organization at large and the employer. Owing to work related stress, employers suffer legal liability. This is because; it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that their staff does not suffer from wok related stress by formulating preventative measures. In addition, the responsibility is the result of Health and Safety regulations that recommend for the assessment of employee’s health risks resulting from work related activities. Violation of these regulations exposes the employer to legal liability in a court of law. As a result, employers face substantial lawsuits that could see them lose tons of revenue to their employees. This is evident as in the case of Walker who received compensation in excess of $200,000 as a result of breakdown caused by work related stress (Organization for Health and Safety, n.d). Therefore, eliminating this shows just how much expensive work related stress can be on employers, and should. In addition, due to work related stress, employees tend to have reduced performance in regard carrying out their duties and tasks at work. This is due to long-term health problems that arise from work stress such as mental problems. Due to this, employers suffer reduced productivity as their employees lack the capability to cope with their duties and work roles effectively. As a result, employers lose revenue generated by the work done by their employees. Such long-term health issues include neck, shoulder and arm problems that result from overworking and having substantial pressure to complete one’s duties or face the consequences. Altogether, poor health may suffer breakdowns that incapacitate them from performing their duties leaving the employer short on staff and mounting the remaining workload on the remaining workers. Moreover, the breakdowns, at times, may be fatal resulting in the demise of the worker. Following reduced performance and quality of work, the company, employer, may lose its hard-earned image of providing quality service (Leka et al, 2003). This is following reports of the working conditions that employees go through. It could also be as a result of public knowledge of legal tussles in courts owing to suing for damages. Moreover, for other employees working for the same employer, it may lead to poor performance in protest of the treatment and conditions to which they are subjected. This is due to poor relationships between workers and their employer, as well as pressures amounting from work related activities that employers are unwilling to reconsider. In addition, to the society, it costs employers dearly concerning the revenues earned. This is because; a company with a ruined reputation does not have any impact on society and thus cannot move clients to purchase their products or procure their services. Therefore, the economic loss that an employer faces owing to image damage, resulting from work related stress. Besides, employers also face a rise in complaints from clients and customers due to work related stress. Moreover, stressed workers produce substandard performance in the workplace, and thus clients do not get satisfaction for the work done for them or even the products that are produced. As a result, clients may go filing compensation or claims so that the company pays for the poor services rendered. The cost of reimbursing the funds spent by clients may be astronomical while it could be saved by paying attention to the needs of their employees. In turn, this leads into an economic slump owing to reduced revenues and servicing claims by clients and legal suits by the same clients and consumers. Furthermore, workers may portray inappropriate company image to clients due to their high irritability resulting from work related stress (Leka et al, 2003). This is because, they view job as a burden that needs to be overcome. Therefore, clients, in turn, face the wrath, as a release mechanism, of the suppressed stress that employees feel. The effect borne by the employer is in the form of lower revenues, as clients complain of poor services and seek to take their business elsewhere for better client based services and products. In spite of the presence of safety measures in an organization or company put in place by the employer, it is up to the staff to follow safety procedures. Therefore, due to job dissatisfaction from work stress, employees tend to be involved in more accidents at the work place (Leka et al, 2003). To cater for these, it is up to the employer’s insurance to pay for the damage inflicted on the worker. From this, the insurance premiums are higher than usual due to well-deserved negligence or “carelessness” of the employees. In this case, it cannot be termed to be the employee’s fault that the accident occurred, but it is up to the employer to claim responsibility for it. This is because, the well-being of the employees lies as the employer’s responsibility (Hamilton, 2010). The accidents result from stress because it leads to the difficulty in concentrating and difficulty in sleeping (Medibank Private, 2008). Therefore, since employees need to keep up with duties, they work under pressure leaving out vital details crucial for their safety. Employers also pay dearly in the recruitment of new staff resulting from work related stress. Therefore, they are required to curtail the reduced performance by stressed works and those that suffer from the adverse effects of stress. This way, potential employees are wary of working for such a company meaning that the employer loses employees drastically over a limited period with no chance of rapid replacement. In this way, an employer faces extinction in the market from competition put up by other companies (Leka et al, 2003). Thus, current employees, as well as potential employees are poached or leave for other employers keen on their needs and working conditions. In conclusion, stresses arising from one’s job have adverse effects on employees, which then reflect on the employer and the organization. This way, employers pay dearly for physical, emotional and social stresses that employees face at work in multiple ways that include loss of clients, revenue and image. References Blaug, R. et al (2007). Stress at Work. Retrieved on 11 July 2012 from http://www.theworkfoundation.co.uk/assets/docs/publications/69_stress_at_work.pdf European Foundation for the Empowerment of Living and Working Conditions. (2007). Work-related Stress. Retrieved on 11 July 2012 from http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/reports/TN0502TR01/TN0502TR01.pdf Hamilton, J. (2010). Work-related Stress: What the Law Says. Retrieved on 11 July 2012 from http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/1B504994-F40F-4801-B93D-8FA4DE73E1FD/0/5233Stress_and_Law_guide.pdf Leka, S.et al (2003). Work Organization & Stress. Retrieved on 11 July 2012 from http://www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/en/oehstress.pdf Medibank, (2008). The Cost of Workplace Stress in Australia. Retrieved on 11 July 2012 from http://www.medibank.com.au/client/documents/pdfs/the-cost-of-workplace-stress.pdf Organization for Health and Safety (n.d.). Stress at Work: A Guide for UNISON safety reps. Retrieved on 11 July 2012 from http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/18596.pdf Read More