With winter approaching and another year nearly done and dusted, it’s important for organisations to take stock of how their workforce has been coping ahead of the new business year starting in January.
National Stress Awareness Day which was recently held on the 2nd November, is a reminder to everyone to check in on their mental health, but it’s also for management to ensure their staff’s wellbeing remains positive and productive.
While certain levels of stress can help individuals to remain focussed and alert, it’s also important to be aware that there’s a danger of burn-out as a result of chronic stress. Burn-out has been recognised as a state of mental, emotional and physical exhaustion caused by long-term stress.
According to Mental Health UK, a poll in 2021 indicated that 46% of employees felt “more prone to extreme stress” compared to the previous year, while adding that “Burnout is often misunderstood, stigmatised and costly to both employees’ health and wellbeing and employers productivity.”
What Are The Signs ?
Mental UK highlights that burnout does not go away on its own and that underlying causes must be addressed, otherwise it can cause further harm to the mental and physical well-being of a person, which includes the ability to function properly either in their work or home life.
Red flags indicating possible burn-out include :
- A persistent sense of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion
- A feeling of helplessness and/or detachment
- Interrupted sleep patterns
- Feeling alone
- Feeling overwhelmed, overloaded and unappreciated
- Having a negative attitude and disillusioned
- A change in appetite
Managing Workforce Stress Levels
It’s important to note that employers need to be proactive with regard to recognising and managing stress levels within their workforce and can start by building a picture of workforce health.
Edtesa Wellbeing is a toolkit that can be used to assess the health and wellbeingof your workforce and support to make improvements. These include bitesize surveys to get instant feedback and assess the wellbeing of staff, as well as looking at each area of wellbeing to identify an organisation’s strengths and weaknesses. It also has specific resources for management to understand and improve on wellbeing issues.
Edtesa has a further range of online products and services to support organisations, not only for wellbeing, but also online safety, reputation and building strong communication flows to ensure a positive work environment.
Beyond National Stress Awareness Day, it’s important to check in on your staff. This support will have a positive impact on your employees, and will create a needed positive work culture. Please do find out more about our services, to see how we can support
