Workplace Counselling : Organisational Interventions

Overview

The concept of ‘employee assistance’ Stressors in the Workplace Stress-related absence Organisational responsibility for stress

management Creating a healthy workplace

The Concept of ‘Employee Assistance’

early 1900’s : ‘welfare provision’ 1920’s : ‘industrial psychiatry’ Mayo (1936) ‘a happy worker is a productive worker’ 1940’s : ‘Employee Assistance’ : Characteristics of early Employee Assistance

– aim : employee regulation

– welfare team : psychiatrists, social workers, occupational psychologists and personnel officers

– peripheral

– ‘curative’ medical model

Characteristics of Contemporary Approaches to Employee Assistance

Political pressure + legislation (Health & Safety Executive, 1995) + ‘happy = productive’ has led to ....

Employee Assistance as a philosophy (Carroll, 1994) Mental Health Counselling ~ ‘EAP’s’ US : litigation for cases of ‘emotional damage’,

stress-related illness (Carroll, 1996) ‘prevention better than cure’

Stress in the WorkplaceHow bad is it ?... Economic ‘health’ ~ employee ‘ill-health’ (-ve correlation) Dutch Bureau for Social Statistics (SCP), 2000 : 5-15% pop. of Western

European countries receive social security benefits (UK : approx. 10%) 1 in 3 unable to work due to ‘mental grounds’ (90% suffering

‘exogenous reaction’) 30-60% of all sickness from work in UK due to some form of

mental/emotional disturbance (Health & Safety Executive,1998); 40 million working days per year.

Mental Health Foundation (2000)– £4 billion pounds lost annually– line mgrs : 75% felt anyone could suffer from stress at some time– Most common = musculoskeletal disorders (back-problems) then

work-related stress

What is Stress ?

stress as an outside stimulus (traditional/early view) stress as an internal response

Cannon (1930’s) : first to link stress to disease/physiological responses (animal, human lab studies)

Selyle (1946) first to look at the process of development of illness through stress : 3 stages :- alarm reaction(lowered resistance & counter-shock => defense mechanisms) ... resistance (coping strategies) ... exhaustion (adaptive mechanisms collapse)

Causes of Stress : Theory Cumming & Cooper (1979) : type of ‘P x E’ model :

– individuals try to keep their world ‘steady’– each factor of a person’s emotional and physical

‘world’ has a range in which that person feels comfortable

– the individual’s behaviour which is aimed at maintaining this state = ‘coping strategies’

Smith et al (1978) : stress occurs in all occupations NB. occupational differences (caring professions, medics,

PSYCHIATRISTS!!); gender differences (men affected 2x women, although women increasing)

‘Burnout’Adams (1963) ‘Equity Theory’ High/systemic imbalance between employee ‘investments’ (time +

effort) ~ employee ‘rewards’ External vs Internal Investments External vs Internal Rewards Burnout <<< high external effort + low internal reward (Bosma et al,

1998; Evans & Fisher,1993; Siegrist, 1996)

Roe & Zijlstra (2000) increasing intensification of the working day work demands + life demands N.B. Individual differences in peoples’ interpretations of events

‘hardy personality’

Causes of Stress : ResearchCooper et al (1988) : 5 categories of work stress :

1. Factors Intrinsic to Job :

hours of work (long hours, shift work); working conditions (heat, light, noise); risk and danger; new technology; work overload & work underload

2. Role in the Organisation:

role ambiguity (more stress when high ambiguity), role conflict (job role ~ job role, job role ~ other), level of responsibility (for people or things : Wardwell (64) for people is more stressful than for things)

3. Relationships at Work

the importance of social support (Lazarus, ‘66; Cartwright & Cooper, ‘97)

Cooper et al (1988), continued...

4. Career Development :

- job security & development (high nAch)

- retirement (role transition i.e. ‘roleless role’)

- job performance and appraisal

- unemployment (e.g. Fryer & Payne, 86 : low happiness, low self esteem and poor psychological well-being; Eisenberg ‘38 : Model of reaction to unemployment : stage one = shock, stage two = optimism, stage three = pessimism)

5. Organisational Structure & Climate :

Lack of autonomy and freedom (‘Career Anchors’)

Consequences of StressIndividual physical : coronary heart disease, backache, migraine, skin

complaints, respiratory disorders, stomach ulcers etc.etc.! psychological : decrease in job performance (Yerkes-Dodson

Law); depression; panic attacks; etc etc.

Organisational Quick & Quick (1984) : absenteeism and turnover :

$ loss to organisations = almost half of ‘lost’ employees salary

By 1970’s absenteeism cost more to industry than strikes and work stoppages

Litigation and Health Care Costs

Societal : economic and social consequences

Indicators of Individual Stress Increase in unexplained absences or sick leave Poor performance Poor timekeeping Increased consumption of alcohol, tobacco, caffeine (drug taking) Headaches/Backaches Withdrawal from social contact Poor judgement/indecisiveness Constant fatigue Unusual displays of emotion

Indicators of Group Stress : increased bickering, high staff turnover, increased grievances and complaints

N.B. The Criterion Problem : Diagnosing stress-related illness

Relevant information is not registered Differences in procedures/legislation Unclear diagnostic criteria (International

Classification of Impairments, Diseases and Handicaps - no international definition of ‘stress’ as a medical condition)

Stress-Related Absence

Absence figures : absence due to - own illness, injury, medical problems, childcare problems, family/personal obligations, civil/military duty, maternity/paternity leave.

Not included : vacation, personal development days, industrial action - and anything else not given above.

N.B. Multiple job-holders Absence Rate = No. workers with absences : No. workers in full-time

employment (e.g. 25 : 100 = 1 in 4) Absenteeism Rate = Total no. lost working days / no. workers in workforce x no.

working days)] x 100 CBI survey : 1996 - 187 million lost days (£12bn) static among manual staff, increased by 2 days (on average) in non-manual

workers (N.B. manual staff more) public sector vs private sector (although gap narrowing)

How organisations perceive stress-related absence

98% said sickness absence genuine 20% increase in org’s using sickness record as a selection

criteria for redundancy Traditionally, org’s responded to prolonged absence by

disciplinary process/termination. Now - employee legislation prevents termination.

Organisations as Ostriches! Organisational costs of stress-related absences

overtime payments, training efforts, insurance premiums, admin. responsibilities, salary paid for no work performance, disruption in normal workflow

morale, safety risks, productivity, quality of service

Organisational & Economic correlates of employee absenteeism

low unemployment growing organisation high employee turnover unionized organisation overtime pay available low wages employees have short tenure

Creating a Healthy Workplace

The individual and the organisation need to: be aware and accept a problem exists (individual is not

incompetent, org. must monitor sick/turnover rates) identify and isolate the problem (stress diaries, stress

audits - ‘employee satisfaction surveys’) attempt to change the problem in a way that is mutually

beneficial - or find appropriate coping strategy monitor and review the outcome of the strategy

adopted

‘Cures’ for StressEmployee Assistance Programmes : Are ‘employee’ rather than org. directed - focus on changing

individual’s behaviour (not stressors in the work environment) Feldman (1991) : 75% of Fortune 5000 organisations use

EAP’s Content of EAP’s : on-site fitness facilities, relaxation classes,

counselling.... Evaluation of EAP’s : Organisations like them as : lead to

significant financial benefits (due to decreased absenteeism); do not disrupt ‘business’; present a high profile means whereby org. is seen to be doing something about stress

Stress Management Training : Content

Behaviour Modification techniques Health promotion (e.g. gym membership) Counselling Cognitive Approach : ‘maladaptive thinking’

e.g. Rational Emotive Therapy - challenge irrational thoughts Humanistic-Phenomenological Approach :

e.g. Q-Sort : piles describing ‘ideal’ vs ‘current’ self. ‘Encounter Groups’ : ‘‘hug me, man’’ Erhard Seminars training : 250 people in a field shouting

at each other

Evaluation of Employee Assistance

Reynolds et al (1993) : SMT => decreased self-report of stress, and psychological indices of strain - no improvement in job satisfaction, work stress, blood pressure

Allison et al (1988) : Counselling = > improved mental health - no improvement in job satisfaction or organisational commitment

Ivancevitch et al (1988) : Fitness Programmes => 70% failed to maintain the programme after initiation

Changing the sources of workplace stress : prevention rather than cure

Elkin & Rosch (1990) : 10 strategies : include....

Redesign -task, -work environment; establish flexible working; encourage participative management and employee development; provide social support and feedback; share rewards; have fair employment policies

Evidence Guzzo et al (1985) : increased ‘empowerment’ =>

increased productivity Dale et al (1998) :’Quality Circle Programmes’ self-

monitoring, autonomous work units - have significant positive impact on productivity and employee attitudes.

Characteristics of the Healthy Organisation

Cartwright & Cooper (1994) Levels of stress are low org. commitment and job satisfaction are high sickness, absenteeism and turnover are below the

national average industrial relations are good - strikes are infrequent safety and accident records are good fear of litigation is absent