Almost
60 per cent of senior HR professionals in local government have high stress
levels due to too much work, not enough support and not enough time to do the
job, according to a survey exclusive to personneltoday.com.
The
poll of 200 HR professionals carried out at local government HR body Socpo’s
annual conference last month shows that 56 per cent have high levels of stress
symptoms.
Respondents
cite not enough time to do a good job, unreasonable workloads and deadlines,
insufficient support and having to manage staff who are under-performing.
Lack
of acknowledgement and poor communication with managers were also cited.
Richard
Kendle, sales and marketing director at stress management firm the Lancaster
Group – which carried out the audit – urged HR directors to introduce stress
management training.
"Stress
is a major player, particularly in HR, because it has so much on its plate with
employment legislation that many feel snowed under and find it difficult to do
their job," Kendle said.
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The
Lancaster Group asked delegates 25 questions relating to reasons for stress and
stress levels.
