The UK Working Lives survey finds that while many workers are overall happy with their jobs, many feel squeezed and a quarter of workers say it negatively affects their mental health.
The report, which was published earlier this week, notes that worker wellbeing is the “single biggest contributor to good work and job quality” in the country, and in 2016, 15 million working days were lost because of stress, anxiety of depression.
According to a survey of 6,000 workers carried out by the CIPD, two thirds (64%) of people are satisfied with their jobs, while just 18% are dissatisfied.
Just over half of workers (53%) say they “always” or “often” feel enthusiastic about their jobs and a similar number (55%) say they are willing to work harder than necessary to help their employers or clients.
In terms of health and well-being, 44% of workers say their job has a positive effect on their mental health, while a quarter (25%) say it negatively affects them.
And while a third (33%) say their job has a positive effect on their physical health, just over a quarter (27%) say it has had a negative effect.
The report also shows that 22% of people regularly feel “under excessive pressure” at work, the same number feel “exhausted” and one in 10 (11%) report regularly feeling miserable.
“While only a small minority regularly feel miserable at work, it does indicate a serious problem for these people,” the report states.
“Many jobs have occasional points of pressure that people, by and large, cope with well. It is the relentless pressure that does the damage and it is the middle managers suffering the most in this respect.”
More than anything, the Working Lives report singles out squeezed middle managers as the staff most likely to need support with mental health.
While 65% of middle managers surveyed for the report say they are satisfied with their work, 28% of them reported that their work negatively affects their mental health.
In order to improve mental health and wellbeing, the report recommends companies promote mental health policies clear at the recruitment stage and provide more training to develop people management skills.
“Good line management can help manage and prevent stress, which can be linked to poor mental health,” the report states.
“Managers should be able to provide clear objectives, feedback and support to staff and proactively manage conflict when it occurs which can help to create positive working environments, which foster employee well-being and resilience.”
It also calls on employers and mangers to be more alert to the early signs of mental ill-health, and have the confidence to have sensitive conversations about the issue with workers.
In terms of those at a senior management level, the report says they are the most likely to be highly satisfied with work, but they are also the most likely to associate work with good mental health and well-being.
More than half (51%) enjoy the quality of their job and say it was a positive effect on their mental health, while 22% report it has a negative effect.
And just under a third (28%) of senior leaders and bosses that they find it difficult outside of work to fulfil personal commitments and a similar number (29%) say they find it difficult to fulfil personal commitments, because of the amount of time they spend at work.
“Those in management positions are often overworked, which can not only lead to stress and poor mental health, but also means they are not able to manage their teams to the best of their ability,” says CIPD chief executive, Peter Cheese.
“Stress in the workplace passes down, and combined with the lack of training and development opportunities for those in low-skilled work, is a heady mix, which needs to be better understood and addressed to enable better productivity and well-being across all organisations.
“We need to ensure that we’re designing our jobs flexibly and in ways that best utilise the skills of the workforce, implementing positive health and well-being strategies, and tackling workplace cultures of stress and giving voice and support to our people,” adds Mr Cheese.
“Alongside that, we need to give those looking to develop their skills the ability to do so, through workplace learning and wider investment in skills development to make sure we’re making the most of all the talent that people have.”
The report recommends bosses consider a number of possible solutions to improve job quality.
These solutions include conducting a stress audit and direct resources to reduce or eliminate any sources of stress at work.
It also recommends bosses clearly signpost support services to all staff and look at offering an employer-funded support programme.
And it calls on companies to adopt a clearer approach to remote working and create a more enabling culture, where mangers feel trusted and empowered to take ownership of their work.
In addition, it also calls on the Government to promote life-long learning and ensure the Health and Safety Executive has enough resources to encourage all employers to meet their existing legal duty to identify and manage the causes of work-related stress.
The CIPD’s senior adviser for organisational behaviour, Jonny Gifford, adds: “In terms of overall solutions, the message is clear: healthy workers are happy and productive workers.
“If there’s one ultimate aim in job quality it should be to improve the well-being of our workers,” says Gifford.
“We also need to look closely at the main factors that facilitate or get in the way of better quality jobs.
“More extensive training and development must be part of the solution, so workers can develop in their careers and feel more fulfilled in their work.
“There are also many things employers can do that make a real difference – in particular, fostering better workplace relationships and giving employees voice and choice on aspects of their working lives.”
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, ‘Burnout, stress and being human’, Heather Beach is joined by Stacy Thomson to discuss burnout, perfectionism and how to deal with burnout as an individual, as management and as an organisation.
We provide an insight on how to tackle burnout and why mental health is such a taboo subject, particularly in the workplace.
