Stressful January Linked to Increased Anger and Health Issues in Women.

Let’s be honest, the prospect of returning to work after Christmas is unlikely to fill you with anything other than dread. In fact, when you team wet and windy weather conditions with heightened workload, increased demand for performance and practically no job security, it is no surprise that January is identified as the most stressful time of the year.

Recent statistics produced by the British Association of Anger Management (BAAM) have found that the extra stresses of the season are having particuarly detrimental effects on the UK’s female workforce. The survey concluded that stress in women has increased dramatically with 80 percent of women feeling unsupported, over-worked and insecure in their positions. Worringly, these increased stress levels have resulted in feelings of depression in 60 percent of cases and anger issues in 43 percent.

These peturbing statistics raise the question, is the workplace ill-equipped to deal with the needs of women and is this lack of empathy for the female workforce creating the increased stress which leads to depression and anger? Julian Hall  highlights the dramatic increase of females suffering from anger and health problems that are linked to stress at work: “Our client base is approximately 40 percent female and we see the effects every day of stress and depression. The health effects are serious”. Of the female respondents to the survey many reported feeling increased tension, negative changes in personality and hyper-sensitivity to colleagues, partners and other family members. Almost half of all surveyed claimed that the stresses of work had caused them to feel depressed and to increase their alcohol intake significantly.

Even more concerning is the number of respondents who admitted to having experienced chest pains as a result of their heightened stress levels.

With nowhere to turn stressed out workers are bottling up their feelings causing them to lash out at the people who love them the most. Julian Hall says: “What these statistics show is that an individual’s ability to deal with stress in the workplace is directly linked to their motivation, productivity and their health. What we know from our core client group is that since they are unable to express this at work they end up taking it home with them and acting it out on their families. An employer with foresight will place this at the core of their employee well-being strategy”. With the UK at risk of facing a “double-dip” recession and very little being done by employers to deal with the health of their staff, things are looking particularly bleak for our nation’s workforce and in particular, our women.

Get the equality policies right, or else
With the allegation of ‘institutionalised racism’ being levelled at a couple of organisations recently, employers need to be absolutely sure that they follow their grievance and equality policies consistently and treat any employees who complain with the utmost fairness.

That’s the advice from Michael Slade, Managing Director of employment law specialist and health and safety advisor Bibby Consulting & Support. Slade was responding to news that allegations of ‘institutionalised racism’ had been made by a former NHS manager’s trade union representative during his employment tribunal hearing for race discrimination and unfair dismissal against the Central Manchester University Foundation NHS Trust. The manager was awarded almost £1m in compensation. This case followed one in December 2010 where a former employee of Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust was awarded £4.5m for “an extensive process” of race and sex discrimination.

In both cases, the employees claimed that they were pilloried by their employers for bringing formal grievances. Slade said this highlighted the need for employers to make sure they applied their grievance and equality policies properly and treated their employees fairly rather than making life difficult for them if they complained.

Also, employers need to be aware there is no maximum award in discrimination cases and therefore breach of discrimination legislation could cost them a lot of money. Indeed, some smaller firms have been forced into liquidation when they have been ordered to pay large awards to claimants. “The term ‘institutionalised racism’ can sound like a serious allegation, as if an organisation is deliberately discriminating against certain employees,” Slade said.

“However, it could be that claimants may feel they have been discriminated against because their employers have failed to put robust equality policies in place.” He went on: “Public bodies are obliged to publish relevant, proportionate information showing compliance with the Equality Duty, they need to show transparently that they are complying with the very latest equality legislation. We believe that all employers should operate on this basis because only by being pro-active on this issue can they ensure they treat all employees fairly and equally in all the circumstances, while building a defence against serious and costly claims of discrimination.” Slade reminded all existing clients of Bibby Consulting & Support to use the 24-hour support line if they needed clarification or support with matters related to discrimination at work.