City bosses urged to tackle stress among employees
A stress specialist has urged bosses to tackle habitual poor time keeping among employees, saying it’s an underreported issue that’s draining UK productivity.
Paula Ruane, who runs Ruane BioEnergetics which aims to help people manage stress at work, said this is a key driver of employees starting late, leaving early and generally being less productive.
The fast-paced, constantly connected and 24/7 nature of the modern office environment means more attention is being paid to workplace wellbeing. This is particularly acute, in the City which is known for its long hours culture.
"Employers need to be more proactive in addressing any issues within their teams, before they reach tipping point and the consequences affect a business’ bottom line," she said.
Read more: What is mindfulness? And why does your office need it?
Previous research has shown employee absenteeism costs businesses an average of £554 per employee per year. Despite this, almost two-thirds (61 per cent) of employers approach wellbeing reactively rather than proactively.
"Many businesses may think of stress management as a bit of fluff, an unnecessary expense or simply not their priority," Ruane said.
"This is particularly the case in the business world, where employees are conditioned to think that admitting to stress is a sign of weakness."
"However, stress is very common in the work environment, it does affect most businesses and certainly does hurt their profit. They just don’t see it."