EFC and top HR experts join hands to beat workplace stress

Marking the World Day for Safety and Health at Workplace, the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) conducted a seminar on ‘Managing Workplace Stress’ recently. The seminar was aligned with the theme of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), for the World Day for Safety and Health at Workplace 2016: ‘Workplace Stress: a collective challenge’. 

In his opening remarks, EFC Director General Kanishka Weerasinghe said that workplace stress is two-pronged: It entails the responsibilities of employers as well as the obligations of the employees to find solutions to create a stress-free work environment. “It requires a mutual dialogue, however, there is an onus on the employer to contribute towards a healthy workforce thereby sustaining productive businesses,” he remarked. 

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Director General Dr. Champika Amarasinghe pointed out that occupational stress could be attributed to various reasons including workplace conditions, working environment and lack of proper communication within the organisational hierarchy. “One of the causes of workplace accidents is workplace stress,” observed Dr. Amarasinghe, who pointed out that more than 2.4 million workplace accident and injury-related deaths occur worldwide annually. 

The presentation on stress and stress management in the work place, delivered by the Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Dr. Mahesh Rajasuriya, was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Senior Consultant, Human Resource Development, EFC, Dr. K.L. Chandrathilake. 

The panel discussion brought together some top HR experts and administrators drawn from diverse backgrounds who brought under the spotlight, the processes and tools adopted by their respective organisations in order to mitigate workplace stress for the employees. The discussion also enabled a strong dialogue on managing workplace stress and work-life-balance the organisations strive to champion in common. 

Hemas Hospitals Thalawathugoda General Manager Dr. Chamila Ariyananda urged employees to enhance their capacities – both physical and emotional, to counter workplace stress. “Workplace stress is unavoidable, therefore it is imperative to adapt to stress,” said the clinician who encouraged healthy eating, keeping one’s self hydrated and practicing relaxation techniques while working to beat stress.

Job content and job context are both conducive to workplace stress, reflected Hayleys Group of Companies  General Manager Group Human Resources Jayendra De Silva, who further noted that although work pressure is unavoidable, work stress could be managed. “Having clearly defined processes in this regard is imperative,” said De Silva who cited performance evaluation, training interventions and having proper infrastructure within an organisation as some of the main tools to address work-related stress. “It is the middle management which is mostly stressed within an organisation owing to the absence of clear-cut processes for them,” he added.

A by-product of many elements, workplace stress cannot be perceived as an ‘isolated phenomenon’, opined Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC General Manager Human Resources Dilrukshi Kurukulasuriya who maintained that ‘happy employees can make happy customers’. “A lot of stress is caused by inter-personal relationships,” observed the HR expert citing equity, balance of power, non-harassment and employee safety as cornerstones of a successful organisations where employee satisfaction is optimum.

Bringing with her the challenges which entail the IT sector that transcends national boundaries, Virtusa Ltd. Director Human Resources Chandi Dharmaratne elucidated on the proactive role played by ‘virtual platforms’ created by her organisation. “The biggest stress trigger for us is the global structure of our organisation where employees may be reporting to a manager sitting in another part of the world.”  

Given the nature of her organisation, these ‘platforms’ enable supportive networking, asserted the HR Director who advocated training and education as stress management tools. “Inability to perform also triggers stress and in such instances, supporting the employees to enhance their capabilities and thereby preventing stagnation and monotony in the job are crucial,” she noted.