Leisure actively benefits work productivity

My efforts to promote the benefits of leisure to sustained high quality work productivity, including stress management, have to be fought against the generations-old work ethic. I don't have any problem with the importance of work - it takes up a fair bit of my own life too.

Where I do have a problem is the age-old belief that leisure is a waste of time - particularly 'good working time'. Ok that's starting to break down in various ways. The latest interesting stats are that Australian workers voted work life balance ahead of salary increases. What they are really saying is they want to enjoy life.

But when it comes to discussing hard dollars, ensuring a healthy profit, shareholders pressures, etc, the term leisure is still a non-word. It's not until I have a client well and truly interested in using me that I even introduce the word leisure (other than in my business name).

They do start listening however when I start talking about job satisfaction, reducing unauthorised use of sick leave, reducing the number of hours spent by staff and management alike in unproductive effort (staff conflicts etc). The facts are that absorbing, interesting, passionate interests pursued away from work and unconnected with work interests have a massive impact on work productivity, staff communication, commitment, workforce stability...the list goes on.

Yep, there is indeed a big link between work and leisure...its just that it's going to take a long time before the work ethic image of leisure is erased and replaced by what I call a Life Ethic.

Workplace Stress Statistics

This a "blow my own trumpet" blog, borne out of my frustration about the inability of organisations to even accept they have a responsibility for minimizing the risk of staff stress claims, let alone take any stress risk management action.

Graham Yemm, a UK consultant, has come up with some alarming stats which are in line with other stats I have seen over the last couple of years regarding stress in the workplace. His information is that :

• 65% of workers believe their stress is due to work-related issues
• only 29% of people believe their bosses are doing anything about stress...49% believed their stress levels were worse because they had lack of confidence in management
• 45% of managers do not believe there is any issue or problem with staff mental health, but
  
• 97% of them recognize there is a link between people's health and productivity and
  
• 86% say they want their workforce to be more productive
  
• 62% of employers feel that investing in people's health is a luxury they cannot afford
• it's estimated fewer than 10% of organisations have a mental health policy and only 14% of them believe it is any good.

Other stats I have found elsewhere say that stress related OHS claims are on the rise - something over 8% of all claims and stress claims take much longer to resolve and are more costly. Talk about 'head buried in the sand' stuff.

I see my energy management program (go to www.workleisure.com) as not only having real stress management benefits, but also they offer value for risk management programs designed to show workcover bodies that the organisation is actively doing something to minimize the risk of stress claims.

I could go on for pages on this but it won't mean much until managers start to believe:

• there is a stress management problem in their organisation specifically
• they have an OHS responsibility to actively do something to minimise the risk of stress claims
• there are good options around - like the energy management program that I offer - that can demonstrate to workcover bodies they are actively doing something to minimize stress, enough to help keep OHS levy contributions down.

There...got that off my chest!! :)