In the past, HR was primarily concerned with health and safety compliance. Back injury was one of the worst things that could happen in the Workplace.

But times have changed, according to Dr David Batman.

He is a member of the Science Advisory Board at Virgin Pulse Institute as well as a registered Consultant Specialist in Occupational Health – and he has observed a disturbing trend.

“When I started in industrial medicine 20 years ago, most of the issues I was dealing with were physical,” he says. “But over the last 15 years, there has been a dramatic increase in psychological issues. To the point where they have now eclipsed back problems as the top issue in the workplace.”

The culprit

One of the big underlying problems, Dr Batman says, is stress.

This used to be the domain of leadership teams and managers. But now it’s a universal challenge facing every level of the workforce. “What’s behind this shift is the complexity of work,” Dr Batman confirms. “It’s ever-present on employees’ minds thanks to modern communications and growing uncertainty. Since the Global Financial Crisis, people are more anxious and this has significant impact on the way they feel and behave at work.

“There’s fear of loss of jobs – that if you’re not at work, someone will replace you. So people will be too afraid to take a sick day and they’ll drag themselves into work when they’re unwell and unproductive. They’ll potentially affect others – spreading the problem.”

The solution

Dr Batman says the psychological wellbeing of employees is one area where working proactively on prevention and risk management is better than trying to manage people who are already highly stressed.

“It is far easier to avoid problems in the first place - by creating a healthy, supportive workplace culture filled with resilient employees - than it is to try to fix employees who’ve reached crisis point,” he says.

“Building understanding and resilience is your number one weapon against psychological issues, and essentially, it’s about helping people to find the balance that’s missing in their lives.”

Balance is a simple concept and not nearly as difficult to achieve as people think, according to Dr Batman.

“Balance is about how you manage your life – at work and at home – to prevent yourself from becoming psychologically unwell – and it’s just a series of simple steps,” he says.

“It’s how you exercise, eat and drink; whether or not you smoke; how well-rested you are and whether you find time for yourself, family, and colleagues. Virgin Pulse has taken these principles and simplified them so they can be delivered easily in a workplace setting, getting results for individuals and the businesses they work in.”

Watch our webinar recording and build more resilient teams.

Stay tuned for our report on stress, coming soon.