Further evidence that Canadian employers are stretching workforces too thin comes via a new study for the Public Health Agency of Canada. As detailed in Uyen Vu’s front-page story, the public health system is spending about $5.85 billion annually because of stressed-out workers. It’s a figure the report’s co-author Linda Duxbury says is on the low-end of the health-system costs of overworking staff.
While employers looking at the macro-level effect on the health system are unlikely to do the math to determine their share of this tax burden, they should certainly take note of the number of overworked Canadians seeking help. These people are often top performers struggling with work-life balance. Their ill-health is a productivity concern, and their ability to perform at superhuman levels is time-limited. Sooner or later they’ll exit the corporate world for less stressful opportunities — that is if they don’t burn out on the job first.
It can be difficult for HR professionals concerned about employee health and productivity to sway senior executives with mathematical calculations about work-life balance, stress levels and the impact on the organization’s bottom line. The need to meet a fiscal quarter’s targets pushes aside such niceties as long-term health. And a busy quarter shouldn’t be a big issue, but when does the “easier” quarter arrive? When has a CEO ever stood up and said, “We’ve worked hard five straight quarters to make numbers, let’s all take a breather for the next three months.”
So while concerned HR practitioners are raising employee health concerns, they may want to make a point or two about the lost opportunities staffing on a shoestring also represents.
If valued staff are consumed with the daily grind of meeting deadlines, goals and numbers, there isn’t time to strategize internally or network externally to develop new business opportunities.
High performers with little time to think are restricted in their ability to be innovative. Staff who can barely leave their desks to get their lunch from the fridge are unlikely to schedule networking meals away from the office, even if there is a chance to expand business.
Managers bogged down by both front-line duties and higher level meetings and reports are also unlikely to spend quality time developing staff. Orientation for new staff suffers because supervisors hardly have enough time to show new hires the basics of the job.
It’s time for a new twist on an old adage: Time is money. Give staff some more time, and they’ll make more money. Cut staff to the bare minimum and there’ll only be enough time to deal with the quarter at hand.
Employers need to overcome the fear of adding head count. Reasonable staffing levels lead to sustainable growth and the profits organizations are after.
While employers looking at the macro-level effect on the health system are unlikely to do the math to determine their share of this tax burden, they should certainly take note of the number of overworked Canadians seeking help. These people are often top performers struggling with work-life balance. Their ill-health is a productivity concern, and their ability to perform at superhuman levels is time-limited. Sooner or later they’ll exit the corporate world for less stressful opportunities — that is if they don’t burn out on the job first.
It can be difficult for HR professionals concerned about employee health and productivity to sway senior executives with mathematical calculations about work-life balance, stress levels and the impact on the organization’s bottom line. The need to meet a fiscal quarter’s targets pushes aside such niceties as long-term health. And a busy quarter shouldn’t be a big issue, but when does the “easier” quarter arrive? When has a CEO ever stood up and said, “We’ve worked hard five straight quarters to make numbers, let’s all take a breather for the next three months.”
So while concerned HR practitioners are raising employee health concerns, they may want to make a point or two about the lost opportunities staffing on a shoestring also represents.
If valued staff are consumed with the daily grind of meeting deadlines, goals and numbers, there isn’t time to strategize internally or network externally to develop new business opportunities.
High performers with little time to think are restricted in their ability to be innovative. Staff who can barely leave their desks to get their lunch from the fridge are unlikely to schedule networking meals away from the office, even if there is a chance to expand business.
Managers bogged down by both front-line duties and higher level meetings and reports are also unlikely to spend quality time developing staff. Orientation for new staff suffers because supervisors hardly have enough time to show new hires the basics of the job.
It’s time for a new twist on an old adage: Time is money. Give staff some more time, and they’ll make more money. Cut staff to the bare minimum and there’ll only be enough time to deal with the quarter at hand.
Employers need to overcome the fear of adding head count. Reasonable staffing levels lead to sustainable growth and the profits organizations are after.
