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Everyday domestic life is more stressful than work pressures for 68% of the nation’s workers, according research into the causes of stress by UK experts in workplace issues, Croner. The research, by YouGov for Croner, asked 2,770 employees to rank stress triggers in both their work and personal lives.
Financial worries (voted by 27%), relationship problems (15%) and achieving work/life balance (12%) are to blame for the most stress. Workplace factors including workload, long hours and pay were only considered the most stressful by a combined minority of 25%. The remaining 7% blame other factors or do not get stressed.
However, when quizzed further about the workplace, only 14% said they don’t get stressed at work. A heavy workload was voted as the most stressful by 24% of respondents, followed by poor working relationships (14%), working long hours (12%), and pay and benefits (12%).
Gillian Dowling, employment technical consultant at Croner, says: “Responsible employers should be able to spot physical signs of stress, but what the survey results show is that domestic issues can significantly contribute to the problem. This can make it difficult for employers to identify the root cause of suspected stress and to decide whether they should take action.”
Gillian finds that employers are often concerned about their legal requirements and how to manage workplace risks to employees when it comes to stress. She says: “These statistics show that there can be a fine line in knowing whether workplace factors are causing an employee stress, or whether factors at home could be making it harder for an employee to cope with a normal amount of workplace pressure.
“We therefore advise our clients of a few golden rules to remember. All businesses should take a proactive approach to stress issues and review the risks to their employees. But it is fair for the employer to assume that the employee can cope with a normal amount of pressure at work."
An employer failing to manage stress could be found in breach of their duty to take reasonable care if the risks are ‘reasonably foreseeable’. An employee with work-related stress could also claim constructive dismissal if they can show that there was a fundamental breach of contract by the employer.
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