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 on 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. McDonalds 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.