Cyrena R Douglas
Letter of Transmittal
Reference: Electronic report on ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF STRESS IN THE WORK PLACE
This is a letter of notification of transmittal of an original copy of a report on the ECONOMIC IMPACT OF STRESS IN THE WORK PLACE being submitted to the University of Maryland University College on date April 12, 2015. This letter further confirms that exert certified copies of the electronic report were submitted to the institution representative on April 12, 2015. The report has looked at some of the effects that can be realized in the work place due to stress. It further covers some of recommendations that should be put in place.
The file is has 11 pages in total, file size is 48kb and dated on April 12, 2015.The report is titled ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF STRESS IN THE WORK PLACE.A table of contents and signed certification of the statement as required are also included in this submittal.
The report has already been mailed to Professor Storm.In addition to this, an original hard copy of the report has also been submitted to the institution. Thank you for the opportunity that you gave me to prepare the report. In case of any questions or future concerns you can contact us.
Cyrena Douglas
This report tries to examine some of the economic impacts that are attributed to stress in the workplace. According to recent research, stress not only affects people at work, but also affects them while at home and might not augur well with family relationships. It is very possible for anybody who is stressed to start behaving abnormally towards their children and other loved ones while at home. This report looks at all factors that can lead to workplace stress and its economic impacts. The findings that are presented from this report calls for an early detection so that this can be curbed to ensure that not only the health lives of employees are saved but also the economic functions of the firms is also looked into.
Economic Impact of Stress in the Work Place
Introduction
According to Doby et al (2009), issues related to workplace stress and its economic impacts have significantly increased in the past decade. This can be attributed to the conditions of work and situations where many are forced to work in areas where they are not well conversant. Using different variables, these are analyzed to enable the researcher to draw their conclusions regarding it. In most instances, workplace stress manifests itself through employees’ absenteeism, lack of concentration, and low productivity. These are directly affecting the employers who are forced to bear the economic brunt of the stress. According to a recent survey, about 40% of all employees are affected with this kind of stress (Munir et al 2007lthough stress is majorly viewed as a health problem (Munir et al 2007). It has become an economic problem in many workplaces. Individuals who are psychologically stressed cannot do any productive work. In fact, some of them can be taken ill and even leave work altogether when they cannot manage the situation anymore.Munir et al (2007) expounds that stress at the workplace originates from stressors, which are things that ignite stress in the workplace. For instance, in institutions such as banks, you might notice that an individual who is trained as a banker is put to perform roles such as selling the banks products. Although this is part of the work, such a person according to analysts does not have the mental attitude to perform that kind of work; examples of stressors include relationships, changes in the workplace, bad organizational practices, and factors such as long hours as well as other factors.
Statement of the problem
The aim of this study is to determine the economic impact of stress in the workplace and how it is dealt with.
Purpose and scope of work
The study was conducted based on the feedback obtained from full-time employees as to the economic impacts that stress has on them and the steps that employers are taking to deal with stress. This study was conducted in businesses that are operating in central London. Ideally, stress may occur in the workplace when people are faced with some work demands that do not correspond to their knowledge and skills. It concerns both employees and employers. The data for this study was collected when all employees were working that is none was on leave so that physical factors could be gauged to come up with a good a measure for stress.
Decision maker or a group of decision makers
This report is of benefit to both the workers and the employers since both of them are stakeholders in the working environment. For instance, when the company is not performing well even those who are employed in the company cannot earn good salaries.
Sources and methods of data collection
The main sources of data for this study were both the workers and their employers. A team of researchers developed some questionnaires that were distributed to them. They were asked about how stress often affects them economically in their lives and how well and faster they can be able to handle it. In addition, they were asked how it has affected areas such as their job performances, their relationships, and overall production at work. The respondents involved were employers working in companies based in central London. Each research member was tasked with interviewing at least four people, their employers or the employee to come up with facts about how stress affects them economically?
Literature review
According to Hsieh(2004,every worker all over the world refers to their work as very much stressful, this is not limited to only a few workers but rather it has been defined as a global epidemic that affects from all walks of life. While in most cases, t is only the physical and health effects that are overemphasized, economic stress is very alarming due to great losses that are often carried by the company. According to (Hsieh2004), in the UK alone, workplace stress causes companies to incur an estimated $300 billion in losses due to absenteeism by stressful employees. When middle-level workers were surveyed, it was found to be a dominant factor in the place that can make many companies incur huge losses every year. This was estimated to the tune of billions and several job losses. (Hsieh2004).
Although stress is always bad, surprisingly enough some studies have also shown that it can be very good since it can make workers more productive than they have been hence it spurred economic growth. Some parallel studies have indicated that those who are financially stressed are capable of working harder so that they can make up for what they lack in terms of finances. McHugh& Brennan (1994) argued that, no one can reach peak performance without being stressed. The primary areas that are affected by stress are also related to the performance of the employees hence stress is an aspect that warrants attention from managers and owners of the business. Besides, stress also affects personal relationships and other secrets psychological illnesses
In case an employee has a deadline to meet and he has a low control over stress, he is likely to be affected more by stress. Stress can manifest itself in the form of lack of self-esteem and inability to achieve the goals that have been set. High workplace demand combined with low stress controls and has devastating effects on an individual leading to less production that in turn affects the company’s overall production leading to losses. Finally, most health issues that are related to stress are also common in the workplace, for instance, psychological illnesses among others (McHugh& Brennan1994).
Methodology
Data Collection
A questionnaire was developed which was used to collect data. The questionnaire was designed in such a way that it was divided into two parts with additional sections so that the questions under study could be addressed fully. For instance, the first part is asking about the economic effects of workplace stress. The respondents were asked to respond as to whether stress has in the past affected their performance and if yes in what ways. The second part, of the questionnaire, was to investigate whether stress had an impact on other areas such as illnesses, absenteeism, absconding work, resignation, and production. The other questionnaire was directed to employers and managers and they were asked whether stress has an impact on the overall income earnings of the company. Additionally, they were also questioned as to whether the measures that they have put in place to handle stress have succeeded and if not, why.
Data selection
First, a group of 100 companies were chosen in central London then a random data selection procedure was used to sample 45 companies. The focus of this study was on the employees and the employers of the companies since both are economically affected by stress. After the data had been collected, the results were recorded for analysis. These results indicated that a huge number of employees have been affected by stress related factors. On the other hand, researchers also noted that a number of employers also reported that stress had affected their businesses in the past. Some of the questions contained in the questionnaire include whether stress has led to sickness in the past, whether stress has caused employers to be absent from work, whether stress has caused a reduction in amount of employees income that they earning and whether stress has led to a reduction in the employees living standards of living(Lovely, 2012). In the second questionnaire, questions that were asked include whether stress among employees has led to lower productions due to absenteeism and whether the annual earnings of the companies have reduced due to increased cases of stress.
Results of the research
The aim of this study was to determine the economic impacts of stress in the workplace. Due to privacy issues, respondents did not respond to all questions. The research found that a over 40 percentage of employees are often affected by stress in number of ways. For instance, those who are present at work could become angry at just the slightest provocation. Moreover, their quality of work was affected since they experienced a lot of burnouts and there were also frequent absenteeism, job resignations, and chronic illness. Economically, stressed workers incurred health bills that were 30% higher than those who were not stressed. Moreover, of 60 to 70 percent of visits to doctors was also attributed to stress (Lovely, 2012), this was according to research done in most hospitals.
The research also indicated that the majority of people could not perform well especially when they are affected by stress. This was realized when 70% of respondents said that stress affected their work (Lovely, 2012). Besides, some stressed individuals even contemplated absenting themselves from work. Anytime they do this, the company suffered losses since first, the work which they aware supposed to do will not be done on time. Secondly, the company might lose a lot of money by hiring some people on a daily basis to take up the employees positions and finally the cost of training these people to fit in those roles is enormous According to researchers, only 20 percent of those who were asked are not always affected by stress in the workplace. They attributed others factors such as poor pay and lack of technical knowhow.
The respondents further said that stress affected them negatively their areas of performance since they could not perform well like they do when they are not stressed. Moreover, a significant number of employees’ creativity was also affected by stress while performing. In a nutshell, stress has been noted to be having a negative effect on the individual productivity and performance leading to lowered production in the workplace. Some of the impacts of stress include, causing chronic illness, lowered production, absenteeism, abandoning work, resignation and reduced salary.
After proper analysis of the findings, several conclusions can be drawn. Findings from this study indicate that stress has a great economic impact on any organization since it affects the performance and the morale of employees. The key areas that led to reduced earnings in the company are job satisfaction and productivity. These areas were considered since they have a direct effect on the company
These programs can even be outsourced since the overall benefit to the company is very huge as compared to what the company might lose while working with employees who are constantly stressed. One of the best ways that the company manages stress is through counseling. Secondly, they should have insurance so that anyone affected by this can easily get immediate help
Recommendations
The employers and company owners should now put in place various measures through which they can manage stress in the workplace
Employers should put in place various programs to manage stress.
More studies should be done so that actual causes of workplace stress can be noted.
Company trainers should have in their curriculum ways through which they can curb stress so that it can be reduced in the workplace.
All employees should be free to share their ideas on ways of managing stress.
Managing stress should be a key thing within the company and should be budgeted for.
The company should learn the best ways to help stressed employees instead of sacking them.
The company should employ counselors who should always be at standby to help with stress-related cases.
References
Doby, Victoria J; Caplan, Robert D, A. L. (2009). Organizational stress as threat to reputation: Effects on anxiety at work and at home. Academy of Management Journal, 38(4), 1100-1105.
Hsieh, T. H. (2004). The Relationship Between Employee's Personal Work Standards and Perceived Work Stress. International Journal of Stress Management, 11(2), 177-178. doi: DOI: 10.1037/1072-5245.11.2.177
Loveday, A. (2015). Tackling Stress at Work. Occupational Health, 64(3), 1-4. Retrieved April 07, 2015, from http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/947007892?accountid=14580
Munir, F., Yarker, J., Haslam, C., Long, H., Leka, S., & Griffiths, A. (2015). Work Factors Related to Psychological and Health-Related Distress Among Employees with Chronic Illness. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 17(2), 259-77. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10926-007-9074-3
