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WBC stress story, Genuine concern or taking the mick? |
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Jun 15 2012, 08:06 PM
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QUOTE (Strafin @ Jun 14 2012, 05:56 PM) http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/2012/rise-in...rkshire-councilI have just read this story and a couple of things sprung to my mind. If you're stressed out about losing your job, is it wise to be taking time off? I accept stress can be difficult and cause genuine problems but we all suffer and some need a day off sometimes but that's what holiday time is for. Do these employees get sick pay? It strikes me that it is one of those things that is difficult to disprove so if you get paid no matter what, an easy way to get some free time off. Does this set of figures only refer to the council itself or it's services as well, schools for example? Only we are all under pressure and it would be interesting to know if the stress was reflected across other council workers. If it is there may be something in this, but I wonder if it could also be a culture that has manifested through more people seeing easy time off as acceptable. And finally how are these absences covered and what is the cost? Overall, too simplistic (cynical, maybe?) by half. NHS adviceNon-visible problems are often dismissed as lead swinging under various terms of phrase. Truly ill people, or those on the verge, have their situation made worse by worrying about being branded a skiver. I am sure, as an ex-Councillor, you did everything to ensure your staff were not so stereotyped.
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Jun 15 2012, 10:05 PM
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QUOTE (Simon Kirby @ Jun 15 2012, 10:47 PM) Nationally time lost because of mental ill-health of one kind or another accounts for around 40% of all lost time, so the question isn't why is WBC's proportion so high, but why is it so low? Mental ill-health can be debilitating, and life-threatening, and its stigmatisation makes it all the more difficult for people to seek help and recognise that they are ill. Stress can be a trigger and it's good that Unison have brought this up, good for the health of the employees, and good for the productivity of the employer. well said Simon.
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Jun 15 2012, 10:06 PM
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QUOTE (badger @ Jun 15 2012, 11:05 PM) well said Simon. Times 2.
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Jun 16 2012, 02:25 PM
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QUOTE (user23 @ Jun 16 2012, 02:05 PM) Thanks for that User. 34% of all sick incidences is stress-related, but the average time lost to each stress-related incidence is almost 30 days, very much longer than the 5-10 days lost to the more typical colds and flu, so mental ill health accounts for a disproportionately large fraction of all days lost, maybe more than 40%.
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Right an injustice - give Simon Kirby his allotment back!
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Jun 16 2012, 02:29 PM
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QUOTE (user23 @ Jun 16 2012, 02:05 PM) Interesting that the industries that reported the highest rates of work-related stress in the last three years were health, social work, education and public administration. I'm not sure what that suggests and why that particular group should have a high sickness rate due to stress. Are they employing the wrong people, is the work culture such that the employees strees themselves into stress related illness or is it that the unions need to keep stress to the forefront as a factor so that pressure of work can be a the path to higher pay claims. Whatever the reasons, I'm not sure that being a teacher or working at the council offices can really be that stressful and I would take a bet that the health workers who report stress related illness are not the patient care section, the nurses and doctors, but are the employees in the administration department.
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Jun 16 2012, 03:42 PM
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QUOTE (Exhausted @ Jun 16 2012, 03:29 PM) Interesting that the industries that reported the highest rates of work-related stress in the last three years were health, social work, education and public administration.
I'm not sure what that suggests and why that particular group should have a high sickness rate due to stress. Are they employing the wrong people, is the work culture such that the employees strees themselves into stress related illness or is it that the unions need to keep stress to the forefront as a factor so that pressure of work can be a the path to higher pay claims.
Whatever the reasons, I'm not sure that being a teacher or working at the council offices can really be that stressful and I would take a bet that the health workers who report stress related illness are not the patient care section, the nurses and doctors, but are the employees in the administration department. I would put all this stress down to all these vexatious taxpayers wanting to know too much information in regards to trying to find out just what the council are doing?
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Vexatious Candidate?
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Jun 16 2012, 04:22 PM
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QUOTE (NWNREADER @ Jun 16 2012, 05:12 PM) One constant stressor for those working in public service is knowing what is 'right', what is a priority, what the community needs, but being required to do other things because of political pressures, Stress is not so much caused by having lots to do; much more likely the inability to do the real job because of irrelevant impositions from central Govt/local point scoring....
IMHO, of course.... I would guess comments like the one below must add to the stress too. I'm sure your average hard working teacher or social worker would not like being called a liar. QUOTE (Timbo @ Jun 14 2012, 06:08 PM) Must be all the lying and having to deal with complaints.
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