Toxic workplaces poison people and profits
Author: Helene Zampetakis
Date: 23/02/2006
Words: 818
Source: AFR           
Publication: The Financial Review
Section: Supplement
Page: 14

More companies are turning to corporate wellbeing professionals to address stress in the workplace
Helene Zampetakis

Longer working hours and job insecurity are taking their toll on corporate Australia as more stressed and burnt-out employees turn to health practitioners for help. Corporate wellbeing professionals report a steady increase in business, with companies and individuals looking for ways to take the pressure off in the workplace.

Mental injury now accounts for 6 per cent of all workers compensation claims, up from 3 per cent in 1997-98, according to the Australian Safety and Compensation Council. That figure may seem low at first glance, but more time is taken off work and medical and legal bills are higher for mental injury than for other claims.

Stress begins as a psychological condition, but eventually manifests physically through symptoms such as higher blood pressure, blurred vision and lower immunity. Problematic behaviour, including aggression, withdrawal and substance abuse, is generally closely linked.

The direct cost to business is significant, as long-term stress leads to increased absenteeism and staff turnover, and lower productivity. Last year, a Gallup Australia study revealed that 20 per cent of employees are actively disengaged clock-watchers and likely to be less industrious, unprofitable, disloyal and even disruptive. The study estimates the cost to the economy at $31.5 billion a year.

Corporate health practitioners say the problem, dubbed presenteeism, is typically caused by damaging workplace cultures. So-called toxic workplaces have in common a lack of regard for their workers.
A study released last year by the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University found that stress comes when workers have high demands placed on them but little control over how they perform their duties.

Among a plethora of additional stressors, federal government workers compensation insurer Comcare cites a lack of training and communication, poor management support, repetitive work and uncertainty.

Victor Sultas, stress management consultant at corporate health and wellbeing company Holistic Services Group, says toxic workplaces may have cultures based on blame, bullying or elitism.
"Harassment is a big issue at the moment, especially from demanding bosses pushing heavy workloads," says Vultas.

Other workplaces may not be intrinsically toxic but become stressful if the work itself is repetitive and monotonous. Lower productivity is the outcome in all these situations.

HSG founder Michael Stone says that, as a result, companies are increasingly gaining shareholder support for wellbeing programs. "There's more recognition of the healthy worker/wealthy company," says Stone, himself a refugee from a toxic workplace.

A former Wall Street and Arthur Andersen finance professional, Stone says companies are often in damage control when they seek out stress remedies for their employees. "Once stress is entrenched in the workplace, it takes much longer to turn around," he says. Typically, practitioners start by assessing the problems in the company and then designing individual remedial programs.

HSG, whose clients include the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Ozemail, Symantec and various federal government departments, may recommend massage, its own screen-based "stretch-break" program, and stress management training that teaches techniques such as time management and coping skills.

HSG also runs creativity programs that teach mental techniques to improve bored employees' approach to work. When the remedy requires changing the work culture, HSG provides management strategies that focus on factors such as up- and down-line support, clear role definitions and adequate staff numbers.

Ken Buckley, the managing director of workplace health specialist Healthworks Corporate, says changing the work culture is critical to addressing stress. "Organisations will be wasting their time on wellness programs if they put their employees back into toxic workplaces," he says. Healthworks conducts health and productivity appraisals to assess employees' health and productivity, and measures these against industry benchmarks. Every six to 12 months the client company is given a summary report on "what people are griping about over their beer on a Friday".

Buckley says that companies are progressively moving towards human capital management, in recognition of the fact that 70 per cent of their cost of operation is in people.

Presenteeism - manifested by workers who are not engaged in their jobs - is responsible for 7.5 times greater loss of productivity than absenteeism, says Buckley. "Supervisors need to be given some level of training so that they can recognise how stress is presented, its causes and how it can be remedied," says Buckley.

"Most companies don't have a policy around stress. Instead they have a culture of blame."
And Buckley says that with workplace stress on the rise, organisations need clear policies and procedures that cover practices such as compensation for long working hours.