Onebright responds to new report on increased workplace stress
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy specialists Onebright has urged organisations to do more to protect the mental health of their employees following the latest CIPD and Simplyhealth report that shows that mental ill health is the top cause of long-term workplace absenteeism.
This week, Cognitive Behavioural Therapists, Onebright have released a statement discussing some of the new findings from the Health and Wellbeing at Work Survey, 2019.
The joint study conducted by the CIPD and Simplyhealth surveyed 1,078 UK professionals and found that heavy workloads and poor management structures were two of the top contributing factors to stress-related absence from work, with the latter seeing an increase from 32 per cent to 43 per cent.
Onebright was concerned to learn some of the critical findings of the report, which has exposed increased evidence of presenteeism (going to work when ill) and leaveism (working while on annual leave). The report showed that an astonishing 83 per cent of the professionals surveyed had engaged in presenteeism, while 63 per cent had reported engaging in leavesim.
In addition to this, 62 per cent of professionals stated that their heavy workload was the result of poor management structures, which in turn was the top cause of stress-related absence.
Onebright believes that these unsettling findings are threatening the productivity and overall wellbeing of organisations across the UK. As a result, the CBT specialists are keen to emphasise that there has never been a more critical time for organisations to not only invest in top quality management training but to also invest in the mental wellbeing of their employees as a whole.
Onebright has extensive experience treating patients suffering from workplace-related stress and are all too familiar with the broader impact this can have on an individual’s mental health as a whole. In particular, workplace-related stress can be attributed to a large percentage of anxiety issues and is one of the most common conditions in the UK.
With the report finding that 59 per cent of professionals attribute mental health issues as the reason for their long term absence from work, Onebright would now like to see more organisations use the findings of this report to spur them into action and make the mental health and wellbeing of their employees a top priority.
Discussing the key findings of the report, Onebright’s Director, Lee Grant stated;
“The assets for any organisation are its people. Generally, people want to do a good job, and committed employees go the extra mile with a healthy bit of stress. The CIPD and Simplehealth report identifies, like our physical health, unhelpful stress can be a tipping point into mental health problems – eroding those valuable assets. Organisations must help managers, colleagues and employees to spot these signs themselves and give them the skills to act – which helps to protect everyone.”
As strong advocates for better mental health initiatives within the workplace, Onebright is now hoping more organisations take heed to some of the worrying workplace mental health issues that this report has highlighted.
Onebright specialises in providing cognitive behavioural therapy to both couples and organisations that are looking to take the necessary steps to improve their mental health.
The organisation offers a wide range CBT treatments for mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD and of course, work-related stress.
If you feel that you may be suffering from work-related stress and would like to reach out to a trained CBT therapist for help.
Source: https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/health-and-well-being-at-work-2019_tcm18-55881.pdf