Acas Chief Executive Susan Clews has worked in Acas frontline operations and as Director of Strategy and Chief Operations Officer.
I wanted to write this blog around the theme of fear versus trust; but was stopped in my tracks cameroon phone number library by the thought that talking too much about fear might add to already high levels of stress and anxiety. The findings from an
Acas-commissioned You
Gov survey, published last week, made me have a rethink. The survey found that:
43% of employers have experienced issues affecting their employees related to stress, anxiety or mental health difficulties in the previous 12 months, but only
22% of employees have spoken to their manager about stress, anxiety or mental health in the last 12 months
If we want to help our staff manage their mental health in the coronavirus pandemic, we must empower them to speak up about concerns. And as leaders, we must be open and honest about our own levels of stress, anxiety and, yes, fear.
One of my personal fears is that people at work will not feel able to raise their adb directory concerns, whatever these might be. Research by the Centre of People, Work and Organisational Practice looked at the attitudes of operational workers, including those in manufacturing and construction, and highlighted significant issues key tips for having a professional around employee voice which already existed before the crisis. It found that the ‘command and control’ structure of many operational roles led to a ‘culture of verbal abuse and management structures’ which did not encourage employees to raise concerns without fear of reprisals. We simply cannot let this happen at a time when people may have legitimate fears for their safety, and when the issues they raise could literally be a matter of life and death.
The new comfortable
A recent poll of 1,000 working adults, conducted by YouGov for the CIPD, found that 44% reported feeling anxious about the prospect of going back to work because of the health risks posed by COVID-19 to them and those close to them. The survey also revealed that 31% of workers were anxious about commuting to work.