With an average of 40 days’ unpaid overtime a year, Britons work the longest hours in Europe. Long hours and a heavy workload can cause stress. According to the Health and safety Executive (HSE) in 2010/11 about 400,000 people in the UK reported work-related stress at a level they believed was making them ill. Psychological problems, including stress, anxiety and depression are behind one-in-five visits to a GP.
Doctors and hospital consultants are often subject to high stress levels, but compared to others in the general population are they better at managing stress? What effect does stress have on an organisation’s success?
Doctors and hospital consultants are often subject to high stress levels, but compared to others in the general population are they better at managing stress?
Learning to recognise the physical effects of stress and do something about it before it causes real problems is something organisations can provide support for. Finding solutions to avoid problems like poor work performance and work stress spilling over into other areas of life requires good people management strategies.
Ability to Manage Stress
Knowing how good an individual may be at managing stress or even be motivated by stress can be tested in various ways. Psychometric assessment can be very valuable, for example the EBW psychometric system – Emotions and Behaviours at Work. The EBW Psychometric System is based on the EBW Emotional Intelligence business model that focuses on areas that are known to predict success in teams, managers and leaders.
One of the significant measures in the EBW is the ‘Stress Resilience (Emotional Control)’ measure. Recent findings suggested that, although working in tough emotional situations, doctors and hospital consultants levels of stress resilience and mental toughness are no higher than professionals and senior managers in the general population. Equally interesting is that they also score slightly lower on ‘Motivation’- measuring drive, enthusiasm and positivity, than senior managers in the general population.
Leaders and managers whose expression of emotions greatly affects their performance, can learn how to handle their strong emotions better by developing their Business Emotional Intelligence.
Leaders and managers whose expression of emotions greatly affects their performance, can learn how to handle their strong emotions better by developing their Business Emotional Intelligence. So with the NHS in the constant strong glare of public spotlight it will be actions that speak loudest. Successful organisations are likely to be those that put systems in place to find ways to recognise who is and who is not coping with stress and offer sustainable solutions to help them manage their sense of stress.
Dearden Search and Selection specialises in supporting NHS organisations select the most talented leaders. If you would like to discuss how we integrate stress resilience into our assessments please contact us on search.selection@deardenjobs.co.uk or 01404 814248.