Businesses jeopardise the health of their workforce if they focus solely on profit and productivity, according to Aviva's annual Health of the Workplace study.
Over a third (39%) of employers questioned in Aviva's Workplace study claim their prime aim is to foster a highly productive and flexible team. In addition, 31% say they are looking for maximum productivity for head count.
This "task focused" approach is having an adverse effect on employees' health. Nearly half of employees (47%) say that they feel much tenser at work than in their home life.
Although 50% of employers consider themselves to be good role models, 45% admit to being stressed at work. The knock-on effects on employees' health and wellbeing are clear as one in five (19%) say they think their bosses create a stressful environment.
Company size plays a key role in business priorities. The smaller the company, the more important work/life balance is thought to be, with half of companies with less than nine employees, citing this as their number one priority for the business. This falls to just 12% for companies with over 100 employees.
Although nearly a third (30%) of employees agree their boss ensures they have a good work/life balance, the research suggests further improvement is needed.
Dr. Doug Wright, principal clinical consultant at Aviva UK Health, comments: "While employers are making some very positive moves towards creating a healthy workplace environment, the overwhelming priority is still on financial performance.
"In the short term, this strategy can sustain a business through a difficult trading period, but it will undermine business performance in the longer term by damaging staff morale and allowing conditions like stress to flourish."
