Today is designated Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year but the reality is that for many workplaces across the country the ‘colour’ employees feel in work today or any other day is set more by the company’s culture and environment than external influences. The good news is that it can be changed, so we’re setting a challenge for you.
The Challenge …
To change the colour in your workplace today.
What 3 actions, however small, can you take today that will change the mood of your staff from blue to yellow?
The response to this year’s World Mental Health Day from companies shows the great changes there have been in the attitude towards mental health in the workplace. With the likes of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge speaking out, it’s now becoming mainstream, and rapidly losing its taboo status.
Millions of employees are impacted by mental illness every year, but with 1 in 3 work sicknotes being mental health related it is still a massive challenge for employers. Stress has a massive financial and human cost on an organisation.
One positive way employers can improve mental health in the workplace is to identify any stress in their workplace and implement proactive wellbeing programmes to ensure stress levels are kept to a minimum.
How to spot high stress levels in your organisation It’s in your attrition and sickness figures Stress is the biggest causes of sickness absence, under performance, low morale, increased litigation and ultimately high attrition levels. Start at the end and work backwards. High attrition figures are a sure sign of a stressful environment. Exit research data tells us that there is a discrepancy between the perceived reasons and the actual reasons people leave an organisation. When questioned, the majority of staff stated their main reasons for leaving as stress, yet it rarely makes the top five in employers’ surveys. Nothing starts a mass exodus like high stress levels. Recognising stress The first thing a manager needs to do to reduce stress in the workplace is to recognise it from an organisational, as well as individual level. This includes knowing when and how it affects themselves because one thing is guaranteed … if you’re stressed it will have a knock-on effect. Spot the symptoms Stress manifests itself in a variety of ways, but symptoms may include changes in behaviour… smoking or drinking more, being unable to sleep, a change in eating habits. Or you may become indecisive, lose concentration, become irritable, angry or anxious, or start feeling tired and listless. Stress can also be the underlying cause of aching muscles, headaches, stomach problems, high blood pressure and palpitations. Lead by example It is important to ensure that on a company-wide level all possible actions are being taken to reduce work-related stress with improved work practices and management techniques. It is also important to take smaller, more immediate actions on a daily basis: encourage your staff to make small lifestyle changes and lead by example. Invest in Wellbeing Acknowledging stress and having positive attitudes towards it in the workplace ensures an open and positive response to it. It gives people ‘permission’ to be stressed. All too often, employees are too afraid to mention the ‘S’ word in case it is treated as a sign of weakness. By taking the initiative, introducing a few simple ideas, and leading by example, you can start the attitude adjustment from the ground up. The advice may be obvious, and you may have heard it all before (excuse the pun) but it can’t be stressed enough!
One of the best things about working at Therapy Solutions is that we get to help some of the most innovative organisations. Companies who are as passionate about their wellbeing and reward programmes and delivering thousands of treatments to hundreds of sites all over Europe like IKEA, Macalpine, Legal and General, and even Russian Meerkats!
The truth is I am never happier than when we are working on a one to one level having feedback from the individual. The employee who doesn’t get the headaches any longer. The employee whose posture is now correct so they don’t get the aches and pains from sitting at their desk. The construction worker whose lower back pain has gone or the employee who feels valued and brags to friends about working for their company because they love where they work.Because Its then, when you hear the individual’s stories that you know you’re really making a difference, employees like Dave!
Dave’s story
When I first met dave back in 2000 he had spent many years as a fit and healthy man serving in the army but had to leave due to an injury. NTL as it was (A Virgin Media site now) were opening a 2000 seater call centre in the town and he took a job there thinking it would be better for him as the role allowed him to be seated. Within just a few months he was having he quite sever back and hip pain that he was finding quite debilitating, to the point where he was considering leaving the job as it was becoming a real problem for him.
Fortunately for Dave the the company had booked massage sessions twice a week for all their staff. I was still working hands in those days so having given him a massage at his desk I was able to feel the area of tension and this, along with looking at his workstation and chair position I advise him on how to improve his posture.
The company also operated a hot-desking policy which meant never getting the same chair twice so it was crucial that he understood the importance of sitting correctly. I taught him the basics of our simple 60 second posture routine called Sitright so whatever the chair he could sit correctly.
Within 3 weeks of doing this his pain had disappeared…. not long after I moved to an admin role and left the ‘hands on’ side of the business just visiting the site occasionally to meet up with managers. Over 12 years later he spotted me on site and told me how the massage had made him pain free and allowed him to keep his job.
Its about making the difference
It’s when you hear stories like that you know that as a company we are truly making a difference not only to individuals like Dave but also to our clients. Its very difficult to measure the impact of a situation like that, where do you start?
Well, Dave worked in a large contact centre and they have one of the highest attritions rates running at about 24% some times as high as 40% with the average drop off point being 18 months. With direct recruitment costs running at around 3,000 and hidden costs increasing it to a more realistic £6000 you could argue that over the last 15 years we have potentially saved the company in the region of 50,000 in recruitment costs alone for an investment of a few hundred pounds. That is without any potential litigation which could mean a 6 or even 7 figure sum.
Loyal, engaged and happy!
But the most important aspect is that they have retained a now very loyal, engaged and happy member of staff who is still there and has a wealth of knowledge available he’s is also more productive because who works well when they are in pain? All of that is this is priceless for a company but it is impossible to account for it on a spreadsheet. And that’s because very often it what really counts just can’t be counted! Hear Dave tell his own story in the video clip below
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