Employment Law Birmingham News

Middle management and junior staff starting their careers are under intense pressure in the workplace, according to a new study published by business performance consultants Lane4.

Almost half of workers (43%) now report feeling under pressure at work, says the study of 1,500 British employees, carried out by OnePoll. Middle management suffer the greatest stress levels, with two in five (39%) under severe stress.

Worryingly, one in five (20%) reported that junior staff just starting their careers also felt extreme pressure.

Because of the current economic climate, over a third (34%) are desperately worried about their job security. As a result, nearly one in five (17%) workers feel they have also been given additional work, increasing their workload dramatically.

Forty-eight percent of workers have actually had their workload increased following redundancies at their company, while nearly a quarter (24%) of workers are taking on extra projects to assist colleagues who are struggling to cope with their workload.

Nationally, both a third of male and female employees had severe fears about their current job. But the survey reveals that the most insecure region is the North West, with one in seven (16%) fearing they could lose their jobs, compared to only 3% of workers in East Anglia.

Employees who don't get deeply involved with their work are more likely to suffer burn out or emotional exhaustion and have lower levels of well-being, according to a new study.

Researchers from Kingston University's Business School gave 227 British workers, mostly in their 30s, standard tests used to measure engagement and motivation. They found that the 15% who were watching the clock and felt the most withdrawn from their work also reported the highest levels of burn out. Feeling alienated at work caused feelings of frustration and apathy, often leading to lower levels of well-being, the study found.

"You might expect someone who is withdrawn from their work to be more balanced and less emotionally-drained because they have time for other things in their life," Dr Kerstin Alfes from Kingston Business School said.  "But actually we found that it's these people who are having severe problems with stress-related exhaustion.”

The study also found that individuals are less likely to feel withdrawn from work when they derive meaning from it and feel that their skills, knowledge and experience are being fully utilised.  "If people are given ownership of their work, see the impact it has on beneficiaries and understand how they fit into the bigger picture, they feel much more positive about work," Dr Alfes said.

The 2nd European Opinion Poll on Occupational Safety and Health has concluded that job-related stress is a concern for the large majority of the European workforce.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), found that eight in ten of the working population across Europe think that the number of people suffering from job-related stress over the next five years will increase (80%), with as many as 52% expecting this to ‘increase a lot.’

Work-related stress is one of the biggest health and safety challenges faced in Europe, representing a huge cost in terms of human distress and economic performance. The poll additionally found that the large majority of Europeans (86%) agree that following good occupational safety and health practices is necessary for a country’s economic competitiveness, with 56% strongly agreeing.

The poll also found that 87% of the general public across Europe believe that good occupational health and safety practices are important to help people work for longer before they retire.

A recent Eurobarometer survey shows that many Europeans are ready for active ageing but their current occupational safety and health conditions might not allow them to continue working to an older age.

Although the typical pensionable age is 65 years across Europe, the average exit age from the labour force in 2009 was about 61.5 years according to Eurostat. In the Eurobarometer survey, four in ten (42%) Europeans believe that they will be capable of doing the work they are currently doing until the age of 65 or beyond, while 17% expect that they will not be able to carry on in their current job past the age of 59.

A recent survey by Croner has found that almost half of adult workers questioned feel more or much more stressed than they did a year ago.

Key factors contributing to rising stress levels include:

• higher unpaid workloads (57%),
• performance pressures (45%),
• the need to work longer hours (34%), and
• the imposition of pay freezes (33%).

Amy Paxton, a senior employment consultant at Croner, said: "The fact that 48% of the workers we surveyed say they are more stressed as a result of work than a year ago should be a real wake-up call for employers. At a time when many industries are under such pressure to keep their heads above water, or even survive, employers cannot afford to have such high levels of stress and the associated difficulties it can cause in their organisations."

She went on to say that: "Stress can be reduced by improving working conditions, restructuring jobs and allowing more flexible working arrangements. A supportive work ethos and a climate in which staff are encouraged to openly discuss their concerns can also help.”