Insecurity and feelings of threat and lack of personal control can eat into the most committed employee in a short time, writes Gerald Flynn

NEARLY A year of recession is taking its toll and there is little doubt that economic recession can fuel personal depression. The old adage that “a recession is when your neighbour loses her job and a depression is when you lose yours” is becoming truer for thousands more people in the workforce.

The boom stresses of overwork and long commutes while juggling childcare have been giving way to the stresses associated with insecurity and declining incomes.

Recessionary waves are now washing into areas generally thought to have offered secure employment. This week 75 senior tax, audit and advisory managers at the KPMG accountancy and services firm are waiting for the inevitable tap on the shoulder as the firm cuts its employee base to reduce costs. Much the same is happening in other professional services firms.

Naturally, stress levels are soaring – and not the “good stress” which managers often feel gives staff that extra “edge”. Insecurity and feelings of threat and lack of personal control can eat into the most committed employee in a very short time.

Recession stress can travel out of the workplace into people’s personal and family lives.

A common feature of stress-laden workplaces at any time are higher absence levels, more sickness leave and resignations. With recruitment options elsewhere increasingly hard to find, these options may be less in vogue so the other symptom – workplace conflict – can increase significantly. People may feel trapped with managers who are also under personal pressure, fuelling rising workplace tension.

According to Ben Willmott, an employee relations analyst with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), “workload and management style are the top two causes of work-related stress”. In a new guide on the Business Case for Managing Stress in the Workplace, he notes that the World Health Organisation has cautioned about the dangers of rising stress levels and mental health problems as a result of the economic crisis in many western economies.

Mr Willmott points out that depression and stress effects are not purely work-based issues. Only a proportion of stress will be caused by people’s jobs, with our research suggesting that 60 per cent of stress-related absences stem from non-work issues.

“In many cases there is a complex relationship between different causes of stress at work and at home, such as debt problems and deteriorating personal relationships, which may lead to the demands of their job – perfectly manageable in normal circumstances – starting to get on top of people.”

The annual Industrial Relations News conference earlier this month addressed the issue of facing up to the personal challenges of recession and insecurity. Psychologist Maureen Gaffney spoke of the need for employees and managers to build on the positive and help themselves to “flourish under fire”. This means developing and sustaining a feeling of happiness, wellbeing and fulfilment by energetically engaging with others and the more stressful economic and work environment.

She noted that, on average, only about one in five people feel that they are flourishing but allied to this is the innate ability of many people to adapt to circumstances.

The problem for many people under the age of 40 is that they have never faced involuntary job moves. For the past decade, they have enjoyed a seller’s market in a tight labour supply.

Ms Gaffney says people experiencing employment and income insecurity need to consider either a “gain goal” or an “avoidance goal” approach. The latter is based on the hope that the tap on the shoulder will not come, but the unease intensifies every day fed by the office or department rumour mill. Every new suit and set of cufflinks appearing behind the blinds in your manager’s office may well spell your name on a P45.

Alternatively you can opt for a “gain approach”, seeking out opportunities and open discussions about what challenges and strategies are being faced by the organisation. Sometimes the conclusion may well be that this is a good time to get out before the entire show collapses, but at least that will be your positive conclusion and a motivation to address your life perspectives. In other words, you are driving your decision and are not part of a herd being shoved and prodded, possibly to the live register queue, at the whim of others.

Most of us cannot avoid or hide from the economic recession, but we can retain some control over whether we are willing to set or embrace personal projects. This will enhance your mood and help fend off the slippage from intense stress into depression.

The time for being angry and upset ran out in 2008 – now is the time to remember that you can still make your own choices and decisions, despite any money, mortgage or marital pressures.

Gerald Flynn is an employment specialist with Align Management Solutions in Dublin gflynn@alignmanagement.net