
Ethan Burris, assistant professor of management at McCombs School of Business, once claimed in 2009 that everyone he talked to “has felt some level of discomfort in speaking the truth to power” – and the subject of staff hesitating to unveil problems at work was one Burris was keen on investigating. The implications, he found, went beyond employee egos and morale: “This is a problem and it’s not just because employees don’t feel like speaking up. There’s lots of research that shows when staff don’t feel involved in the workplace, they tend to withdraw.”
At the time, his research, entitled “The Risks and Rewards of Speaking Up: Responses to Employee Voice,” suggested employees who spoke up or challenged the status quo were deemed to be less competent and dedicated to the company. As such, it was common for there to be a disconnect between how managers and staff judged a firm’s willingness to listen to employees. He said: “A lot of managers think that if they treat their staff respectfully and tell their staff ‘My door is always open,’ that should be enough to make staff trust them. But employees need more than that in order to feel safe to speak up.” Obviously we still haven’t found the secret to fostering trust as seven years later we’re still faced with the same problem – and the subjects staff are unwilling to bring up in front of bosses has only been increasing. Take, for example, the issue of mental health – one in four people are diagnosed with having a mental health problem.Bosses must ensure wellbeing of staff if they are to protect bottom line
It’s not surprising given that we work in an age of long working hours, lengthy commutes and high performance demands. It also has an undeniable impact on companies, which end up losing on average 23.5 days of productivity per employee each year – or a £15.1bn cost to the UK economy.Is now the time to start a new conversation about employee wellbeing?
This was followed by the worry they would not receive adequate support, concern their manager would not understand and the fear that they would be looked down upon by those higher up. Mental illness undeniably remains a delicate subject, but it is one that requires urgent attention from employers in order to better manage staff wellbeing and sickness absence. In the report, Mike Blake, director at Willis PMI Group, claimed that the proper recording of sickness and absence related to mental health was a crucial first step in tackling the problem, but that it could only happen if staff were given the assurance they could report issues in confidentiality and without judgement.More must be done to make entrepreneurs aware their mental health is at risk
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