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The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence Training & Development to Reduce Occupational Stress in the Workplace. Presented by Pieter Walker Director, impact21 Tel – 90185414 or 0404827113 www.impact21.com.au. Outcomes from today.
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The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence Training & Development to Reduce Occupational Stress in the Workplace Presented by Pieter Walker Director, impact21 Tel – 90185414 or 0404827113 www.impact21.com.au
Outcomes from today • To provide an overview of the construct of Emotional Intelligence (EI) • To demonstrate the strong research base and relationship between EI and Business Outcomes / Work place Stress • To see how EI culture change strategies can assist organisations manage workplace stress more effectively • Evidence based Strategies for Senior Executives to recognise signs and symptoms of stress in their workers and how to manage them more effectively • Evidence based package for training staff in managing stress more effectively • Demonstrate the outcomes of implementing EI Cultural Change Programs
Workplace Stress – Overview • Incidence of stress-related claims having risen dramatically in the last ten years. • Employer duties and the significant costs they can incur should they breach their obligations to employees. • Contributing factors - growth in non-standard work and changing work patterns , can occur at all employee levels of an organisation. • Industries that have the highest levels of work-related stress include the education sector, police force, finance, hospitality, transport, retail and marketing industries
Workplace factors leading to stress Process • Increased workload / Work overload • Diversification of work • Lack of control over workload • Coping with organisational change (restructuring, downsizing) • Redeployment or relocation • Job insecurity or redundancy • Long working hours • Shiftwork and arising fatigue People • Interpersonal conflict • Poor management practices • Lack of communication or consultation • Bullying, aggression or harassment and trauma. • Poor coping Mechanisms
Costs of workplace stress and effects on employees • Work Related Mental Disorders in Australia 2006 ASCC- Based on Statistics from the National Data Set (NDS) for Workers Compensation Claims: • Between 92-93 and 00-01, 89% increase in the total number of claims where stress was nominated as the mechanism of disease or injury. • The number of stress claims as a percentage of total claims was 4.4% in 2000-2001. • Between 1998 and 2002, mental stress claims increased from a total of 18.4% of all disease claims to 30.1% of all disease claims • Average Cost for a stress claim $25, 300 compared to $15, 400 all other claims (00-01 data) • 25% of workers were taking time off each year for stress-related reasons ACTU Survey, 500 workers). High levels of workplace stress lead to • Increased accident rates and other OHS problems. • Costly in relation to the bottom line in terms of lost time, increased insurance premiums and a less productive workforce. • Major effect on work performance. • Absenteeism, diminished performance, negative attitude and cynicism, decline in commitment and creativity, and a decreased ability to concentrate, learn and interact with other employees. • Stressed workers can also develop a range of symptoms including insomnia, headaches, back pain, gastrointestinal disorders, fatigue, anxiety, irritability and depression.
The Costs Associated with Managing Depression in the Workplace • The Work Outcomes Research and Cost-Benefit (WORC) Project - University of Queensland & Harvard University. • 6.7 % of Australian workers show signs of stress, depression or anxiety (90,000 Australian workers, 58 organisations) – Only 32% of these sought treatment • Employees with depressive symptoms, who are not in treatment, are absent from work for 5.5% of total working (1 Day a Month) time which is 4.3% more than their non-depressed counterparts. This equates to an annual wage loss of at least $1.5 Billion due to absenteeism in Australia. • Each person with undiagnosed depression has a loss of productivity costing $9, 665 p.a. – this cost does not include absenteeism, turnover etc. • Presenteeism is the largest threat to employers- people are coming to work, but can't perform their functions adequately. • People with depression perform on average at 40% of their capacity. • Cost of depression through absenteeism and loss of productivity is estimated to be $3.5 billion per year www.worcproject.com.au • "Absenteeism is actually the smaller part of the problem, Whereas absenteeism costs around $1.2B per year for the economy, 'presenteeism' or work cut-back costs almost double that at $2.3Billion." - Professor Harvey Whiteford World Bank consultant, Director of WORC • Evidence-based treatment for people with depression can lead to better employment outcomes (Smith, et al 2002). Treatment is effective in over 70% of cases with employees returning to near 100% functionality. • Providing treatment for employees with depression may be cost effective, with the costs of treatment considered to be less than the gains achieved through increased productivity (Wang et al2003).
What does this mean for an organisation of 200 Employees? • An average of 13 employees are likely to have symptoms of depression • Out of which 9 will not have sought treatment • Representing $129,400 in lost productivity (Source WORC) • For each employee you have with depression is producing a loss of $647 per person in the organisation
Why manage workplace stress? • Duty of Care in the various OHS Act requires employers to protect employees from risks to their health or safety. This duty includes protecting workers’ mental or psychological health as well as their physical well-being. • Managing workplace stress , in order to limit its impact on the business bottom line. • A study conducted in 2003 by Morgan and Banks found that sick leave costs Australian businesses $2.56 billion each year. • Statistical evidence indicates that businesses which have implemented work/life initiatives have experienced fewer stress-related absences, lower turnover and increased employee motivation. • In conjunction with decreased absenteeism for stress-related illness, managing workplace stress also has the reciprocal effect of minimising workers compensation payouts and thus premiums. • Employers may be liable to pay compensation in situations where workplace stress leads to employees suffering serious illnesses Eg Simpson & Simpson v State of SA Department of Correctional Services, the South Australian Workers Compensation Tribunal found that “the workers employment contributed to the cancer that caused his death”.
Barriers to managing workplace stress • Increased work demands over-shadowing personal needs • Lack of education of middle managers and executives in how to identify early and manage stress in employees • Inadequate data to support the implementation of a stress-management system • A focus on short term education programs rather than longer term cultural change initiatives; line managers are not involved enough • A lack of involvement from senior management.
Sow how can we begin to address some of these issues? • By developing an interpersonally effective workplace culture! – A transformational organisation focused on people and process over the long term • Selecting for and developing people skills + measuring and managing people skills • Through promoting interpersonally effective leadership – leaders who walk-the-walk and don’t just talk it!
Emotional Intelligence • What is it • What evidence exists that this is the medium for development • When its developed what does that translate to (ROI).
Emotional intelligence • In the workplace emotions are a defining factor of how we act and perform at work. • Emotions influence our thoughts and the decisions we make… • deciding not to hire someone because “something just didn’t feel right” • Who’s going to ask the boss for more resources or a pay rise when the boss is having “a bad day”? • Emotions also play a large role in our outward displays and behaviours, they help define… • Our tone of voice • Our body language • Our facial expressions
Its for these reasons EI is so popular… Most requested reprint of the review for the last 40 years Most widely read social science book in the world
EI Feelings / Emotions Behavioural outcome Workplace event Reasoning / Decision Making Emotional Intelligence • When applied to the workplace EI involves thinking “intelligently” about our own and others’ emotions and how they influence our thoughts and behaviours at work. It is the Strategic use of Emotions in the workplace. • Emotional intelligence is comprised of five specific capabilities…
7 Years University Research – Numerous Publications • Data base of over 3000 senior executives & 12, 000 general workplace • The only workplace specific assessment of EI Swinburne University/ Genos EI 1. Recognizing and Expressing Emotions (Self) - The skill of perceiving and understanding one’s own emotions - The skill of expressing one’s own emotions effectively 2. Understanding Emotions (Others) -The skill of perceiving and understanding other’s emotions 3. Decision Making - The skill of using emotional information (self & others) in decision making reasoning awareness action 5. Controlling Emotions - The skill of effectively controlling strong emotional experiences and associated behaviours 4. Managing Emotions - The skill of effectively managing one’s own emotions. The skill of influencing the moods & emotions of others
Large Body of Literature Linking EI to Business Outcomes Innovation & Creativity (r=0.35) Transformational Leadership (36%) Organisational Commitment (r=0.47) Teamwork Effectiveness (r=0.38) University Research Links Emotional Intelligence to Stress & Absenteeism (-0.43 & -0.54) Customer Service (r-0.35) Sales Job Satisfaction (0.49)
Case Studies Demonstrating Return on Investment from EI Cultural Change Programs Large Retailer – Feedback on 35 Executives by 350 staff 10% 6% 42% 23% 28% 22% One of Australia’s Largest Logistics Companies – Feedback on Executives by100 staff
Overcoming the Barriers to Managing Workplace Stress People • Provision of support to employees in the form of • competent colleagues (executive development and coaching) • coaches and mentors • professional networks • training in stress management • Establishing a standard conflict resolution mechanism through which employees can address matters such as conflict with peers or supervisors • Promotion of work/life balance and introduction of flexible work options • Having an effective counseling procedure Process • Assessment & Tracking of - ability to manage stress in self and others, employee workload and stress • Training & Development + Policy & Procedure (standardization) on Managing significant changes in the organisation • Standardises decision making criteria & guidelines • Moving to standardized and simplified work practices (elimination of waste & duplication in systems)
Our Core Services to assist your Business: Cultural Change for Reduced Workplace Stress PEOPLE • Emotional Intelligence Leadership Coaching & Development Programs – to enhance transformational leadership in current & future leaders: Assist leaders identify the signs of stress in others and how to manage them through it • Team Building – to improve interactions between team members for a more unified team with • Managing the Generations Programs – to improve the interactions between GenX, GenY & Baby Boomers • Customer Innovation Workshop – hear directly from your customers / stakeholders / staff on what they really want in order to exceed their expectations PROCESS • Lean Thinking & Process Re-engineering – to improve systems & processes, by identifying wastes and inefficiencies • Enhanced Decision Making – to enhance decision making and improve buy-in • Igniting Innovation – to enhance innovation & creativity PROFIT • Executive Roundtables – to leverage knowledge & innovation and increase the ability to find solutions to existing problems rapidly • Strategic Planning & Visioning – to ensure successful planning, implementation, change management and follow-up If you believe your organisation could benefit from improving People, Performance & Profit, please contact us to discuss how we can partner with youenquiries@impact21.com.auor call 61-3-901845414