A new global pandemic
Article Date: May 28 2009Anxiety levels at work are rising, and strong leadership is needed to stop stress turning into panic.
That’s the message of a survey released by Investors in People (IiP), which suggests 38 per cent of UK employees feel more stressed than a year ago. It wouldn’t be hard to hazard a guess at the reasons: redundancies or hiring freezes mean fewer staff have to handle more work, the ones who remain are worried about losing their jobs, and the pressure to achieve business targets is greater as companies struggle not to grow, but simply to stay afloat.
A more worrying finding is that 43 per cent of those who feel more stressed this year say a lack of confidence in their manager has contributed to that. Only five per cent of all employees say they have received more support from their managers than they did before the downturn, and only 12 per cent think their bosses have adapted very well to the recession.
Stress is contagious, and if managers are overburdened and anxious, this will transmit itself to staff as surely as a nasty bout of office flu. The IiP statistics suggest this is exactly what is happening in a lot of organisations.
An ex-boss of mine used to say that when you were in a downturn, or simply down on your luck, it was all the more important to project an image of success. You should spread money around as much as possible – throw parties, treat people to drinks, and buy yourself a smart new suit. Rather like the theory of ‘smile therapy’, in which fixing a permanent grin on your face is supposed to cheer you up, real success is supposed to follow the show.
I’m not sure I’d take the above maxim to extremes – you might end up generating more irritation than inspiration – but there’s something in it. If your staff suspect you’ve lost your confidence, or worse, your mental equilibrium, it’s perfectly reasonable for them to panic as well. Put a brave face on things, and they may never fully realise how bad things were until they improve. And if they don’t improve, at least you’ll have a new suit for your next job interview and a few people who owe you a drink.
