It has been suggested in recent studies that stress in the workplace is on the rise. This is reportedly largely down to the fact that people do not currently feel in a position of confidence with relation to their employment future. With job security down, it is harder for people to take sick days when they need them and harder for them to take a break when stressful situations arise.
Unfortunately, the natural result of this sort of situation in the workplace is increased levels of stress that eventually require longer periods of sickness to treat and correct. The CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) recently commissioned a study absence levels in the workplace, finding that average sick days for working people have fallen from 7.7 a year to 6.8 a year per employee.
However, the argument is not that people are healthier nowadays, but people are putting up with more in the name of job security - something that is liable to have a negative impact in the long run. Dr Jill Miller , lead member of the research team, was keen to point out that employers need to have a "proactive approach to supporting employee wellbeing" in order to avert further stress and anxiety problems among their workforces.
One of the ways employee wellbeing is supported in the office is through better office design - through more convenient and more comfortable surroundings that contribute to create a more attractive environment for people to work in.