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04/05/2006
Samaritans' report workers have trouble 'switching off'
A survey conducted on behalf of the Samaritans has revealed that a third of UK workers cannot get to sleep at night through anxiety, and three-quarters cannot 'switch off' when they leave the office.
The report's findings released today, coincide with a series of roadshows to launch Samaritan's WorkLife training to help HR professionals and managers cope better with stress and emotional issues in the workplace.
The organisation's training courses aim to help managers and teams tackle the causes of stress in the workplace. WorkLife is being fully funded by Royal & SunAlliance as part of a corporate social responsibility initiative.
The series of eight free road shows will give businesses a taster of what the training involves and will highlight the unique practical skills Samaritans provides for managers or team members, to deal with stress related difficulties in the workplace.
Samaritans' training includes aspects of their 'active listening skills' which are uniquely used by trained Samaritans volunteers and have now been adapted for use within the workplace.
Samaritans' Project co-ordinator Jonathan Moran, said: "Samaritans is already an established provider of communication skills training in the workplace and WorkLife is a natural extension of the training we currently provide to external organisations."
The survey carried out via the internet by Tickbox.net put a series of questions to 1500 employed people aged 16 years and above. When they were asked what contributed to a good working environment, the top factor selected in most regions was “having management staff who were easy to approach” (81%). The next highest factor was 'flexible working' at just under 75%.
The survey asked which qualities staff felt were important in their managers. The top response at 80% was that managers respected the staff's right to having a work:life balance. The next, at 77%, was that a manager should be able to spot when a member of staff needs support.
The survey showed that the most popular way of handling stress was to have a cup of tea, but the second most popular was to take a 'sickie,' though smokers were likely to pop out for a cigarette break to combat stress.
Overall the survey found that 11% felt that bosses do not care about us and one in five believe their boss lacks training at handling employees' personal matters and over one in five say that their boss lacks the personality to do this.
With stress in the workplace frequently cited as the number one issue affecting employee productivity, WorkLife has been designed to support the Health and Safety Executive's Standards and Guidelines for tackling work-related stress.
The Samaritans has been running communications skills training in the workplace for three years for organisations including the Inland Revenue, National Air Traffic Services, Cancer Research UK and Citizen's Advice.
Developed in conjunction with The Media Trust, a fully interactive version of the WorkLife programme on CD-ROM will be available in the autumn.
(SP/KMcA)
The report's findings released today, coincide with a series of roadshows to launch Samaritan's WorkLife training to help HR professionals and managers cope better with stress and emotional issues in the workplace.
The organisation's training courses aim to help managers and teams tackle the causes of stress in the workplace. WorkLife is being fully funded by Royal & SunAlliance as part of a corporate social responsibility initiative.
The series of eight free road shows will give businesses a taster of what the training involves and will highlight the unique practical skills Samaritans provides for managers or team members, to deal with stress related difficulties in the workplace.
Samaritans' training includes aspects of their 'active listening skills' which are uniquely used by trained Samaritans volunteers and have now been adapted for use within the workplace.
Samaritans' Project co-ordinator Jonathan Moran, said: "Samaritans is already an established provider of communication skills training in the workplace and WorkLife is a natural extension of the training we currently provide to external organisations."
The survey carried out via the internet by Tickbox.net put a series of questions to 1500 employed people aged 16 years and above. When they were asked what contributed to a good working environment, the top factor selected in most regions was “having management staff who were easy to approach” (81%). The next highest factor was 'flexible working' at just under 75%.
The survey asked which qualities staff felt were important in their managers. The top response at 80% was that managers respected the staff's right to having a work:life balance. The next, at 77%, was that a manager should be able to spot when a member of staff needs support.
The survey showed that the most popular way of handling stress was to have a cup of tea, but the second most popular was to take a 'sickie,' though smokers were likely to pop out for a cigarette break to combat stress.
Overall the survey found that 11% felt that bosses do not care about us and one in five believe their boss lacks training at handling employees' personal matters and over one in five say that their boss lacks the personality to do this.
With stress in the workplace frequently cited as the number one issue affecting employee productivity, WorkLife has been designed to support the Health and Safety Executive's Standards and Guidelines for tackling work-related stress.
The Samaritans has been running communications skills training in the workplace for three years for organisations including the Inland Revenue, National Air Traffic Services, Cancer Research UK and Citizen's Advice.
Developed in conjunction with The Media Trust, a fully interactive version of the WorkLife programme on CD-ROM will be available in the autumn.
(SP/KMcA)
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