The following is shared from People:
A new report has found that “add-ons” like lifestyle perks aren’t a viable solution to tackling workplace stress — and employers have to stop “papering over cracks” when it comes to employee health and wellbeing.
Published by the U.K.-based Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), the new report used data from 22 countries around the world to study stress in the workplace — and found that workers are more stressed than ever.
The international organization reported that the use of perks and one-off incentives at work is creating a “widening gulf between good intentions and genuine impact” on employee health, as issues such as job design, workload, working hours, workplace culture and “psychosocial hazards” are left unaddressed.
“IOSH has issued a stark warning to employers: stop papering over cracks with wellbeing perks and start confronting the root causes of harm affecting workforces,” the organization wrote in a press release.
In the study, which used data from regions including the Americas, the U.K. and Ireland, Asia, the Middle East, East Africa, West Africa and Australasia, 67 percent of organizational leaders reported an increase in health, safety and wellbeing issues over the past year.
“The pressures driving this surge are clear, with over half of respondents (55 percent) citing mental health issues such as workplace stress, anxiety and depression as the most common challenge facing their employees,” the press release states.
IOSH’s head of policy Ruth Wilkinson urged employers to put measures in place to prevent burnout and other issues in the first place, rather than react after the fact.