Managers refuse to recognise health and wellbeing problems in their own teams
David Woods, 04 February 2010
2
2 comment's on this article.Managers claim health and wellbeing issues affect their own teams much less than their organisation as a whole.
According to a survey of 300 managers across the UK and Ireland from Right Management, despite the majority of managers (73%) believing health and wellness impacts employees' levels of engagement, 70% felt there were no issues or were unable/unwilling to comment when asked which issues were particularly relevant to their team.
Stress in the workplace is one of the greatest wellbeing issues. Of the 63% of organisations, however, that offer stress management programmes, only 29% of employees use them.
Despite weight management, diet and fitness being seen as a low-priority wellbeing issue for organisations and managers (19% and 1% respectively), gym and fitness benefits are the most popular benefits with employees of organisations that offer them.
More than 90% believe that a strategic approach to wellness and wellbeing affects overall organisational performance to some extent, with just over 50% feeling that it does so to a fair or great extent. However, almost no one felt their company supplied an integrated wellness programme.
There has been a small but significant decrease in the provision of wellbeing services driven by the economic downturn and pressure on budgets. All sub-groups show a significant decline, although this is worst among Irish companies and the manufacturing/construction sectors, which have felt the effects of recession more. The public sector is least affected
Kirsten Sholl, senior management consultant at Right Management, said: "These results are symptomatic of a more complex management problem. There is still unwillingness in many organisations to talk about health and wellbeing issues such as workplace stress. If organisations are not honest and open then managers won't be either.
"Employers must ensure their managers are tooled-up and educated on these matters if not only to satisfy their duty of care but to ensure the productivity of their staff and the wellbeing of their business."
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Mark young - 04 February 2010
I'm afraid this is the way the world has gone. Not enough concentration on humans and too much concentration on process, targets, operations. It has all been very dehumanising.
Companies are starting to invest in coaching that more than doffs its cap to psychotherapy and that has to be a good thing.
CSR departments help develop a corporate conscience for the outside world but it's time we took better care of people at work.
People need the chance to be themselves. They'll be more productive and enjoy work more. Happiness spreads just as fast as dissatisfaction...
Peter Marno - 04 February 2010
The above replicates my experience over many years of relevant consultancy. Employers fail to recognise that their staff are 'second hand' and are not like new cars which come with guarantees and servicing schedules! Employees should be helped by appropriate workplace tools and resources to perform well and it shouldn't just be assumed that they will be able to keep themselves at optimum levels.
Key to understanding what health issues are affecting staff is to have good absence data - most companies fail to realise how much they can do improve their circumstances without it costing an arm or a leg \(sic)!
Peter Marno
Management Consultant Corporate Healthcare
www.petermarno.com
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