The Stress Management Society defines stress as: “a situation where
demands on a person exceed that person’s resources or ability to cope”.

The UK’s government agency the Health and Safety Executive says there is a convincing
link between stress and ill health. Its research with Personnel Today Magazine recently
showed that over 105 million days are lost to stress each year– costing UK employers
£1.24 billion.The research is based on responses from almost 700 senior HR practitioners
and almost 2,000 employees.

Other findings are:

• 11% of absence is attributed to stress
• 52% say stress is increasing
• 60% claim stress is damaging staff retention
• 83% think stress is harming productivity

Pressure itself is not bad. In fact, many thrive on it. But when those pressures exceed a person’s ability to cope,
then that is when the problems start. It follows, therefore, that we can tackle stress either by reducing pressures
or by increasing coping resources – or a combination of the two.