Wellbeing a ‘work in progress’ in most HR departments

Posted on Friday 1 January 2010

Two thirds of HR managers have admitted that wellbeing is still ‘a work in progress’ in their departments, according to a new survey.

The survey by HR and payroll specialists Cascade found that only 13% of HR/business managers believe their organisation has an effective wellbeing strategy in place, and 67% said it was a "work in progress".

The company's 2018 Stress Report, which surveyed 540 participants from a variety of sectors, roles and demographics, also found that stress is now considered “a way of life” for four out of five UK workers.

Encouragingly, the subject was hailed as a top priority for 18% respondents, with a further 58% admitting it is of crucial importance so they will ramp up their efforts.

Cascade's CEO Oliver Shaw said: “Of the business owners and HR managers questioned, only 57% were aware of the cost of absence within their organisation. This suggests that, despite the apparent scale of the problem, there is still something of a dismissive mentality surrounding how worrying it really is and what to do about it."

He added: “There is the outright fiscal impact of absence to consider of course, associated with reduced output, lost productivity and the need to employ temporary staff whilst also covering sick pay. But there are far wider-reaching consequences too including the detrimental effect on colleagues’ morale, the degradation of team dynamics and a potential drop in customer service.

"Above all though we need to be thinking about the root cause of the absence, and the steps that can be taken to prevent stress from having such an impact in the first place.”

The Stress Report found that, of the UK workers surveyed, 40% believe their employer takes enough proactive steps to protect the mental wellness of them and their colleagues. 53% have a place they feel they could go within the workplace to help alleviate the symptoms of stress and 61% think they could speak up at work if they started to experience these symptoms.

Oliver continued: “It’s quite encouraging to see that whilst there is still a lot of work to be done on employers’ parts, employees are recognising the efforts made so far. Hopefully this is a sign that stigma surrounding stress and mental wellness is changing."

The Stress Report 2018 can be found online at: https://www.cascadehr.co.uk/2018-stress-report/