Lack of employee engagement causes stress

Stress is the real main cause of people being absent from work and lack of engagement is the key factor behind this huge problem

More than half of workers who suffer from stress cite lack of support or employee engagement as a main factor behind their problems, according to a survey.

Research from the Mental Health Foundation found that 60 per cent of those who identified work as the source of their stress said that support was not forthcoming from bosses.

A further 20 per cent claimed that they had become stressed because they felt their work was going unnoticed by employers.
The study also highlighted issues over staff retention, with 16 per cent of employees fearing that they would lose their jobs.

Chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation Dr Andrew McCulloch believes that many people living with stress choose to ignore it instead of acting to solve their problems.

"The economic costs of unmanaged stress are huge and increasing – 11 million lost working days a year at the last count," he added.

Statistics compiled by Bupa suggested that stress remains the most common cause of workers taking sick days, with one in six people claiming that their jobs were stressful.