Nowadays many jobs are more stressful and the working day is longer. What are the reasons for this? What can employers do to help employees?

Expectations of workers have changed greatly over the

last

few decades. Today they often have to

work

longer

hours

in situations which are increasingly emotionally and physically confronting.

This

essay will outline why

this

is and suggest how

employers

can assist those who

work

for them to deal with these challenges. There are many reasons for

this

increased

stress

at

work

. One is the competitive nature of many workplaces. With an emphasis on productivity and shareholders’ returns,

employers

often require more of their

staff

than is reasonable or even humanly possible. Mcdonald's is one example of

this

where

staff

are forced to

work

long

hours

just to make a living wage in order to satisfy the demands of customers and the bosses they

work

for. Another

stress

employees experience is driven by the company policy of hiring inexperienced

staff

who are cheaper, and letting go of those who have been in the company for longer. Schools have been known to follow

this

practice because experienced teachers are much more expensive to employ than newly trained ones. The anxiety

this

may create for employees can be severe.

While

changing the practices noted above may not be wholly within the power of an employer, there is much they can do to make working conditions less stressful. One way is for

employers

to always be willing to listen with an open mind to issues that

staff

may be having. In a school,

for instance

, the employer would ensure that the person directly responsible for managing teachers conducted regular meetings in which anything could be raised and that any issues not resolved in

such

meetings were followed up speedily and with care. For a working environment to be as welcoming and productive as it can be,

employers

should

also

be equally the representatives of those they employ as they are representatives of those who have the ultimate say in the business,

such

as investors and shareholders. An employer who is willing to push back against their demands that,

for example

,

staff

need to

work

longer

hours

by suggesting that a four-day week would in fact raise production levels, would, indeed, help those who

work

for him. Many employees face difficult working conditions and unsociable

hours

, which causes

stress

.

Employers

can relieve

this

stress

by making sure

staff

are consulted and by being willing to support them when unreasonable demands are being made of them.