The figures provided by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show the alarming rates of work stress in the
The enormity of the situation has forced health experts to take note of it and find its causative factors. The general view is that bad work conditions lead to this type of stress. However, in a recent speech delivered at the Royal Society of Medicine, Dr Wainwright, a senior health lecturer at the
Dr Wainwright said that it is not the work conditions but rather the reaction to it that is the culprit. According to him, workers of the present generation do not possess the resilience to face pressures at workplace and thus get unnerved by difficult situations, which causes their stress.
Dr Wainwright’s presentation titled, ‘The Limits of the Work Stress Concept’ pointed out that although work conditions have changed with times, stress-related problems had increased because the present generation has a much higher sense of physical and psychological vulnerability and therefore less power to withstand the pressures at work as compared to the earlier generation.
Dr Wainwright also pointed out that there is a growing tendency nowadays to consider small problems as serious health problems. He said that the idea given to people is that they are machines working under great pressure and they will snap at a certain breaking point. According to him, the whole concept of work stress based on an engineering metaphor is flawed.
However, Dr Neil Shah of the Stress Management Society disagreed with the theory of Dr Wainwright by saying that the work conditions of today’s employees are very different from those of workers sixty years ago, and therefore these cannot be compared. He said that the present generation puts a lot of importance to success at work and is continuously thinking about it, which leads to constant mental pressure and stress.
For those involved in human resources management, training and development, CIPD courses are easily accessible and accredited training is provided by reputable companies such as Workplace Law; the Certificate in HR Practice imparts training to managers in necessary stress management skills to help boost team performance for a more effective working practice.
