Britain's managers feel the pressure

Citation

(2000), "Britain's managers feel the pressure", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 19 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmd.2000.02619dab.002

Britain's managers feel the pressure

Britain's managers feel the pressure

Britain's managers are failing to heed the warning signs of when excessive workplace pressures can turn to stress, damaging their performance at work and their home lives.

Executives must learn to spot the pressure points and act, with their organizations, to curb stress before moving into the danger zones, if they are to survive and thrive in today's pressured work environment, says a new report, Taking the Strain, launched today by the Institute of Management (IM) and PPP healthcare.

However, the report paints a picture of executives, who for the large part enjoy and feel challenged in their work, but do not always have the resources they need to do their jobs and frequently take the strain themselves.

Most managers look forward to going to work (only 18 per cent say they do not), 43 per cent say they are happy in their job and almost nine in ten (89 per cent) know what they want to achieve at work. However, they are often unhappy with their workplace culture (43 per cent), feel unable to cope with their workloads (42 per cent) and struggle to meet goals and targets (40 per cent).

Executives identify a range of workplace pressure points, which can be linked to the way their organizations work as well as their own working styles. The top ten pressure points - those highlighted in the "high pressure zone" - cover organizational problems such as poor communication, office politics and poor senior management. They also pinpoint factors in the way individuals work, such as handling change, dealing with time pressures and new technologies, as key culprits.

So what are the underlying reasons for workplace pressure and stress?

In today's organizations, constant change is a way of life, posing major challenges for the way we work. In the past year, almost a quarter of executives say their organizations have been involved in mergers and acquisitions and nearly a third report expanding into new markets. Nearly four in ten managers say their organizations have changed the focus of their activities or company culture and technology has driven change in almost half of organizations.

Workplace change and restructuring has led to the loss of people in key positions in organizations and two-thirds of executives say they now handle increased responsibilities. Equally, almost seven in ten report heavier workloads in the past year, with this figure rising significantly in organizations that have undergone delayering (77 per cent) or introduced new technology (76 per cent).

Managers flag up the top five factors which have caused them unreasonable pressure and, therefore, at times boiled over into stress - meeting deadlines, constant interruptions, lack of support, incompetent senior managers and poor internal communication. Bullying is a further source of stress with one in ten executives saying they have experienced bullying and intimidation on a regular basis.

Nearly three-quarters of managers say stress adversely affects their performance at work, as well as their home life, health and enjoyment of life in general. Yet in today's "macho" work cultures few admit to being unable to cope with their stress levels and are even guilty of transferring their stress to other colleagues.

Most managers experience a range of symptoms, which are often seen as signs of stress, including excessive tiredness (81 per cent), disturbed sleep (78 per cent), loss of temper (71 per cent), headaches (63 per cent) and lowered sex drive (55 per cent). The most popular ways of coping with stress are physical exercise, talking to friends or family, drinking alcohol and shopping.

Mary Chapman, director general, Institute of Management, commented: "Today's executives find work enjoyable and satisfying but, for many, unmanaged workplace pressures are leading to stress with serious implications for the health and wealth of individuals and organizations. Leaders of organizations need to work with individuals to identify and deal with the root causes of stress, develop a healthier workplace culture and equip people with up-to-date skills. For individuals, it means learning to recognize and manage their own pressure points before they turn to stress."

Dudley Lusted, director of corporate healthcare development, PPP healthcare, said: "The prevalence of stress amongst British managers indicates a serious failure of corporate governance. Organizational stress is essentially a risk management issue and, as tools to address it are now to hand, employers who neglect it are clearly breaking the law with potentially expensive consequences. Managers too must be brave in tackling organizational stress and do their part to challenge the misguided notion that taking excessive pressure without complaining is just part of the job."

The report, Taking the Strain, includes recommendations on dealing with stress at an individual and organizational level. It costs £40 (£20 IM members) and is available from the IM public affairs department, on 0171 421 2704.

For further information contact: Karen Dale/Sherylin Thompson, IM press office, 0171 497 0496 (outside office hours, 0181 540 9815).