According to findings from a survey by mental health charity Mind, millions of British workers have lied to their bosses about taking sick leave when they feel overwhelmed by stress. The survey showed that one in five workers (19%) have taken stress-induced sick leave, but virtually all of them (93%) say they have lied to their boss about the real reason for not turning up. The usual reasons cited are stomach upsets, housing problems or even have a sick relative, rather than admitting the truth.
The results of the survey come on 3rd of November which is observed as the Stress Awareness Day. Stress seems to be swept under the carpet more often than not. At least 70% wanted to be able to discuss stress with their bosses, and a third would like their employer to approach them directly when they are showing signs of being affected by stress.
Yet another survey by Mind showed that most people do nothing to tackle stress and opt to live with it. Although half of respondents said they felt stressed at least once a week and one in five (21%) every day, nearly two-thirds (63%) admitted they would not take any steps to deal with it.
According to Mind spokesperson Julia Lamb, “Persistent, unrelieved pressure can lead to stress, feelings of anger and frustration, and physical and mental health problems…Work induced stress can happen for a number of reasons - relationship problems such as being bullied at work can be a big stress factor, but often stress is about unrealistic expectations being placed on people to perform more than they are capable of. This could be anything from having too much work for one person to perform, there being a mismatch between someone’s skills and what they need to do at work.”
She also said some of the common symptoms include – insomnia and difficulty sleeping, waking up repeatedly or too early, fatigue, muscle tension or aches and pains, headaches, stomach upsets, palpitations, inability to focus or concentrate, anxiety or worry, irritability, loss of sense of humor, withdrawal from social contact etc.
MID also suggests tips for preventing and managing stress which include better workload management to make sure that no one is expected to deliver more than they are capable of; and training for managers to identify the risks, recognize when staff are stressed, and support their workers. Adequate lunch breaks, normal working hours, proper unwinding is also important says Lamb.
She added, “The relationship between a line manager and employee is absolutely key to looking after a member of staff who is stressed for whatever reason…Good communication between line managers and staff will enable managers to spot small differences in people's behavior, from being more tense or irritable than usual, to being less enthusiastic or becoming withdrawn…In a good working relationship, colleagues can usually see physical signs of tension, fatigue or distress in other people. So if someone looks stressed on an ongoing basis, it's important to find out if work is the problem, and if so work together to alleviate stressful feelings.”
Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, said the fact that millions of people are being forced to lie about stress at work should be a major concern for businesses. “If employees don’t feel they can be honest about the pressures on them, problems that aren’t addressed can quickly snowball into low morale, low productivity and high sick leave,” he said.
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