Currently 50% of my team at work are off with stress related illnesses, now in no way am I belittling anyone who suffers from stress , have bin there got the t-shirt kinda thing but I do wonder does it reflect on the management of the situation..............comments welcome
It's really hard to comment on a situation like this without real details but, as a manager, yes I would be doing some long, hard looking at stuff. I'd want to consider management style, the company's absence management procedures, staff well-being generally, were people in the right roles, would training help etc etc.
Its a customer service role .......you know how it goes 70% pissed off ppl for one reason or another , that dont mean 70% are dissatisfied just those that are happy don't call back kinda thing.
Work related stress is an employment nightmare nowadays. There's lots of useful info here:
And this is directed at employers who manage people with stress:
:thumbup:
Its a customer service role .......you know how it goes 70% pissed off ppl for one reason or another ,
my lass works in holiday booking office via telephone, all customers are happy when booking - then they find out that they could get same holiday cheaper or with this that or other bonus thrown in. ( even 9 months later ) and then they moan, thats when the stress kicks in
some can handle it- - some cant, so you have my understanding and sympathy keep smiling
it is funny actually. not being stressed but the excuses that peeple use when having time off work.
number one on the list is a bad back and the second one is stress.
now not trying to be cynical both of these are almost impossible to prove, and also if an employee is NOT going to get paid for there time off sick, it is funny how little the ammount of time off a person has as opposed to someone who does get paid.
we can all get stressed it just depends on the wage criterias of your work as to how bad it can be.
if you take my point.:notes:
I pity the 50% left behind - as they say "the living will envy the dead". Being off with stress is no holiday, but those left behind just get more loaded. (I have been there, various people off with stress - for whatever reason I wasn't - mostly I went to Pizza Hut and ranted a lot)
There is no way I could or would comment on possible specific reasons in your case, but I think there is scope for some process evaluation to see if there are any areas where the load on the staff can be lessened, varied through the day or mitigated by specific interventions that boost the staff morale.
It is doubly hard in small companies because there is some much less scope to introduce any variety in the workplace - but it must be worth doing some creative/lateral thinking. Not that I reckon you have been stood still wringing your hands. But there are loads of sources of info out there - dealing with stress but also in avoiding or reducing it before it strikes.
In answer to your question - yes, it must reflect on the management in one way or another. But equally the management (be they team leaders or directors) can make a really significant impact on the workforce's exposure to stress.
Empowerment, engagement with their own process, choice. All buzz words, but all positive influences on the staff's ability to face the stresses of work.
the question 'does it reflect on the management.......' oh god yes it does! Big time.
If the job cannot be done in the time allocated then there's two simple situations here. First, the person doing the job is incapable. Secondly, the job cannot be done. Unfortunately bad management seems to suggest the former and keeps loading more and more tasks/responsibilities making the latter even less realistic.
Management and leadership are two distinctly different roles. Sadly now it's leadership that seems to be pushing to the fore. 'If I can do that, then so can you' however that poor sad bastard doesn't have a life, spends hours and hours extra doing the task and puts more and more work on the rest of the workforce.
Join a union, get advice. Most importantly, talk to someone! Anyone. A problem shared is a problem halved (I could get a job as a football pundit coming out with cliched crap like that!!!!!!!!!!!)
I left a position a few years ago that involved serious management and moved many rungs down. Never been happier!
And have time for extra curricular daytime activities too. What more can a man want?
I took a package 2 years back. Quit a Job I hated.
Know I have a job, half as much work. More time with my wife. More time to have a life. Ok so the money is not as good, but it's enough.
I have not been this happy for years. When I got a call asking if I wanted my old job back, no way.
Travis
thats a big percentage of the work force stressed isnt it ?
if i was the manager/boss then i would be looking at why so many were stressed and how i, as their manager could resolve this... training, more suport etc.
I had 2 months off with stress a few years ago and I really was going through an horrendously stressful time, it really is no walk in the park when you have it for real and I rarely have time off work, unfortunaltey its a term that is used all to easily and allows people to gain time off work when really they just want to swing the lead.
Time for an update methinks , I am at the point now of either making the most of this humorously or sitting in the corner playing with my hair and sucking my thumb.........full team = 11 number of team in work today = 3 ohhh and on monday if no one comes back we will be a minority of two as someone is off to pastures new. I think the most amusing part is when the manager says "its my job to worry about the situation" which I agree it is but it doesn't take away the feeling of doom from the pit of my stomach..........So on that note has anyone any humorous work related stories that they can share to cheer me up after my 10 hr shift today.
