Right up until he passed away, Dr John Hinwood was a prolific blogger (an award-winning blogger in fact!). John’s blog’s shared musing from a rich history of experience, learnings, travel and wisdom
The Hinwood Institute is named in honour of Dr John and to continue his legacy, we’re republishing his blogs to keep his wisdom, wit and wise words alive for the world to enjoy.
You can learn more about the legacy of Dr John Hinwood HERE.
The Workplace Can Be an Insult to Body and Soul
In an article on September 9 2016 in the Britain’s New Statesman Magazine, reporter Laurie Penny wrote…
“Whose fault is it if you can’t cope with the stress of work? The answer used to be simple – it’s yours, and you’re probably a shiftless weakling for even asking the question. But a landmark case in France might soon change public opinion. Following an inquiry into the suicides of more than 30 employees at France Télécom (now Orange) between 2008 and 2009, prosecutors in Paris have recommended that Didier Lombard, a former chief executive of the company, and six other senior managers be put on trial for psychological harassment.”
Penny goes onto say…
“Should employers be responsible for their workers’ mental health? There are health and safety laws, but these were written for an economy where and an age when the most complex hazard you were likely to face was a box-cutter gone haywire. These days, the dangers are far more threatening to our very existence, the wounds of work mental and emotional.”
Last year I was contacted by the General Manager of a mining company in Australia who shared with me that their company was suffering badly since the collapse in the resources sector. We talked about the employee’s mental health, and the immense stress that all the workforce was now under.
A couple of days later we had organized a plan for me to travel to their mine site and undertake our Workplace Stress Management Services program. The next day the GM called me to say the Board had now ‘canned’ the project. The reason… their new policy was, “work it, till it breaks”. The “it” was machines and people!
Two days ago I was delivering one of my favorite keynote presentations… ‘Stressed Undressed’ to a group of recently retired executives. At the end of the session a distinguished man approached me and shared with me that prior to his retirement he had a managerial role with one of the countries large Telco’s. A new senior manager was appointed and his new manager would remind him each day that his job was, “to squeeze every bit out of every employee under him, no matter what”. The story teller shared with me that this new abhorrent attitude by management left him with a very sad heart. The story teller shared that he had always cared about the employees he was responsible for.
The cost to business of work related stress is clearly documented and evident. Worker’s compensation stress claims are the most costly to business (Queensland – $4,000 per claim). Work related stress also creates absenteeism (3.2 days p.a. per Australian employee), presenteeism (accounts for another 6 days) and increased staff turnover. The related impacts on organisational effectiveness and profitability nationally are estimated at between $10.1 billion and $14.8 billion.
Every country with a modern industrial and employment law framework places an obligation on employers for the physical and mental health and wellbeing of their workers. Stress and stress related illness is explicitly covered by these industrial instruments and legislation; however, until recently, the regulating bodies have failed to impose these legal and moral obligations that employers have within these existing legal frameworks.
Times are changing though, and this obligation is increasingly being enforced. Common law claims for negligence with workplace stress are emerging, and it is anticipated that stress injuries to employees will in the near future be treated in much the same way that injuries sustained from accidents, falls, jars, slips, jerks, jolts, falls and manual handling or being struck are treated.
There is considerable academic evidence that properly diagnosing the sources of stress in an organisation, followed by undertaking primary interventions to remove or reduce the stressors, provide an organisation with the greatest value for their investment.
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About the Author
Dr John Hinwood has shared the stage with Dr John Demartini, Dr Deepak Chopra, Dr Wayne Dyer, Dr Joe Dispenzia, Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul fame), Dr Bruce Lipton, Dr Masaru Emoto and others who are at the cutting edge of human behaviour and mindset change.
He has written 14 books with 4 being Amazon international best sellers. He has had papers published in academic journals and was once Captain/Coach of the Danish National Rugby Team. Dr. John’s experience as a health professional by training, successful businessman by effort and an inspiration by inclination has given him an awesome array of practical tools for success.