Danger stress at work
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• Stress is a hidden but expensive item in any company's costs. Absenteeism is costing British industry billion a year, and according to Dr Ted Thairs, head of the CBI's environment, health and safety group: "Stress is a major contributor" to that figure.
Transport companies face the stresses and strains of every business — poor communications, personality conflicts and change. Drivers also have to cope with the particular demands of their profession: meeting tight deadlines, prolonged concentration, isolation, and frustration caused by Britain's congested roads.
In response there is a trend towards bringing in professionals who can pinpoint the causes (and effects) of stress in a company. "It's usually the case that a company knows it's got a problem but doesn't know what the cause is," says Deborah Elwood of London consultancy Stress Care. "Stress is found right across the board, from the managing director's office to the loading bay. It is caused by a plethora of conditions. For drivers the frustration element of traffic can bring a lot of stress."
Using a stress audit technique, which usually involves interviewing a sample of employees on a confidential basis, a consultant can determine the factors adversely affecting an individual's performance.
Bristol-based Wellperson, a company which offers a health monitoring service, advises all sizes of business and puts together courses to fit a company's size and needs. BRS Western uses Wellperson to carry out drivers' medicals.
Wellperson administrative director Gay Wilson considers that a company investing in stress management reaps the hidden benefits of a happier workforce and reduced turnover in personnel. According to Elwood, stres results in an individual or a company's inability to cope, o a small or large scale. We rE commend an approach for stress control to managemeni Stress Care finds that poor internal communications is on of the biggest contributors to stress in the workplace. "Although the lines of communication in a small firm are probably less tangled, they cl still be very poor.
"It may be a cliché," Elwol adds, "but a company's work force is its greatest asset anc must be looked after. You ca have the best vehicles aroun( but it's no good unless you'v( got well drivers to put behinc the wheel."
0 For more information on the CBI Stress in Business c( ference on 10 November, phone 01-379 7400.