Stress remains a problem for UK businesses

3rd November, 2011 - Posted by admin - Comments Off

According to a new report by Group Risk Development, stress is still the top cause of long-term absence for one in six employers and the problem is continuing to rise in many sectors.

According to the data, obtained by interviewing 500 employers, stress-related mental ill health is now the second most common cause of long-term absence behind home and family issues and is now ahead of acute medical conditions such as heart attacks and cancer.

The problem appears to be worse in the public sector, where 27% of workers cite it as their main cause of absence.

Katharine Moxham, a spokeswoman for GRiD, explained that stress is often overlooked as a cause of long-term absence from work, but the statistics prove just how big a problem it is for firms.

“As welfare reform moves forward, any business that has already embraced the value of integrated health, wellbeing and absence programmes will feel vindicated; any business that has not already understood how crucial this is will come to do so,” she explained.

It comes after data obtained through the European Social Survey found that the UK has one of the worst records when it comes to workplace discrimination.

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