New report aims to tackle workplace stress

A new report has been published which aims to provide managers with information and guidance to enable them to reduce workplace stress.

Jointly funded by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the Health and Safety Executive and Investors in People, the research is part of a three-year project looking at how management behaviours can reduce stress.

"This research and guidance shows that managing stress at work is part and parcel of good people management," stated Ben Willmott, CIPD employee relations adviser.

He added that employers that invest in training managers to tackle stress will "reap benefits" such as reduced conflict and staff turnover.

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According to figures cited in the report, stress and other mental health problems cost the UK economy around £26 billion each year.

Meanwhile, research published last month by the Confederation of British Industry and AXA revealed that, over the course of 2007, firms in the UK lost £13.2 billion as a result of workers taking time off.