Keeping workplace stress at bay a life and death issue

I was reading the Times this morning and they had a report on the terrible times at France Telecom that has resulted in 23 staff suicides, and 13 further attempted suicides, since February 2008.  Unions in France suggest that workplace stress is causing these terrible incidents.  Workplace stress is one of those things that often gets brushed under the carpet at work.  Our Quality of Working Life survey in 2007 suggested that just 30% of companies have work/life balance schemes in place.

Likewise our Out of Office survey from earlier this year revealed that 40% of managers are not taking a break this summer due to fears over their job security.  Even those that do go on holiday tend not to switch off completely, maintaining contact with the office via email.

Stress is a big deal

Whilst not all cases of stress culminate in the terrible circumstances in France but nevertheless they have serious implications for all companies.  Research by the Labour Force Survey (LFS) indicates an estimated 13.5 million working days were lost in 2007/08 due to stress.  Studies have shown that stress is closely related to the degree of control an individual has over their work - self-controlled pressure can be tolerated at a very high level, while the threshold for imposed pressure is low.

5 steps to dealing with stress in the workplace

1. Recognise the symptoms - Possible symptoms include changes to your health, your work performance or your general behaviour.
2. Identify the sources - Work isn't an island so don't discount personal problems but possible workplace issues can include
   • time pressures
   • demanding deadlines
   • relationships with others
   • too much or too little work
   • business or work changes
   • threat of redundancy
   • pressure from above
   • insensitive management
3. Know your response - Responses tend to vary depending on your personality type and on the problem identified above.  Talk with your HR and line managers about your concerns (and if you are suffering from health concerns - your GP) 
4. Identify strategies to help you cope - There are numerous useful strategies you can employ to tackle stress at work, some of which include:
   • removing or reducing the outside pressure
   • accepting the things that can't be changed
   • breaking up `big' problems into smaller, achievable goals
5. Make the changes - Change can come in one of three forms.
   • Change yourself
   • Change relationships
   • Change activities

If you would like more information on tackling workplace stress, Ruth Spellman, chief executive of the CMI, is doing a live question and answer session on the Guardian Careers website at 12 noon today so you'll be able to ask your questions live to her.  To post your query visit the website below.

Guardian Careers Forum