Stress injuries continue to rise.

Unless you have been stuck in a crevasse in Antarctica for the last five
years, you will know that the incidence of stress claims continues to
preoccupy employers and WorkCover agents alike.

Once the domain of school teachers and police officers, stress injuries
are now striking at every level of our industrial society. Blue collar workers,
factory hands,disgruntled supervisors, over-challenged managers are
reporting feeling those unmistakable stress symptoms: anxiety,
depression, insomnia,sweaty palms, palpitations, anger and mood disorders.

But Australia is not alone.

A psychological survey released on Monday 25th July in the US, by
Chicago-based EAP provider ComPsych shows that 60 percent of
employees report high levels of stress, with extreme fatigue, or feelings
of being out of control. That is a five-point increase from the survey’s
results from the second half of 2006. Thirty three percent of employees
said they have constant but manageable stress. Only 7 percent said their
stress levels were low. Managers, on the other hand, said only 45 percent
of employees were suffering from high stress levels. They believed 42
percent had constant but manageable stress levels.

And they said 13 percent of employees worked with low stress levels in
their lives. “The results of this study suggest managers may be kidding
themselves in terms of their workers’ stress levels,” Dr. Richard Chaifetz,
chairman and CEO of ComPsych, said in a statement. Employee stress
isn’t always that easy to spot in the workplace, he said. “Rather, it often
manifests itself in increased absences and reduced productivity.”

Managers should let employees know about support services
that might be available to them.

Workstreams News - June 2007