Stress in the Work Place and its Causes.

More and more of the country's population is suffering from stress related illnesses while at work. The numbers seem to be rising unabated, and companies seem unconcerned with this rising trend. The whole attitude of the company in relation to its workforce has changed dramatically over the last 10 years, and it has changed for the worst. This is largely due to the introdcution of performance and ranking and ratings for employees. Now that the blue-chip companies have rid themselves of those awful, nasty unions, they can ride rough-shod over their employees. The onset of stress in the job is more pronounced, as an employee's job represents the difference between living a normal life, and becoming bankrupt and unemployable. The employee is often the breadwinner of the family: his or her wages pays for the mortgage, the bills, the doctors, and education. To lose a job, means losing all of this. Employers know this full well, and they take advantage of it. They seek out the employees whom they see as weak, they are rated low on their performance scales and consequently do not receive bonuses or pay increases. This destroys their confidence, and affects their work. They head into a downward spiral and the worry of losing their job brings on the stress. Not every employee can be brilliant - not every employee received a first-class honours degree. So in all workplaces there are different levels of skills for different levels of the job. Horses for courses. This has always been the case. If an employee is performing a supporting function, he may not get the recognition or visibility of someone who has invented a new product. It does not mean that person is any way less of a contributor. Companies now fail to recognise this. They want to weed out the background employees and force them out of their jobs. They do not care about the stress employees suffer - employees to the company are like shelving or desks. They're expendable. I can only see one outcome to this: the re-introduction of unions.

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