Rachael Robertson ''Are you OK?'' A simple question really helps, says Rachael Robertson. Photo: Angela Wylie
WORK is making more than one in 10 people ill, with high levels of stress prompting 13 per cent of employees to say they fear for their emotional or physical safety in their job.
The same number also believe there is no one at work who cares about them as a person.
The national survey of almost 800 workers conducted by the suicide prevention group R U OK? found that the highest risk group for extreme stress at work was middle-age single parents.
Overall, 40 per cent of workers said a typical work day left them feeling tense or stressed out, with no differentiation between men and women. Only those just entering the workforce - 18- to 24-year-olds - appear to be stress-free in their jobs.
The director of R U OK? at Work, Graeme Cowan, said the survey suggested managers were allowing vulnerable people to fall through the gaps, costing Australian businesses more than $11 billion a year in absenteeism caused by stress and depression.
''Work stress has become pervasive, with many feeling it on a daily basis,'' he said. ''Particularly surprising was that half of all people said they didn't think management had procedures in place to make sure that little problems didn't turn into big problems.''
Mr Cowan said one of the first indicators of stress or depression was a change in behaviour - a person becoming suddenly withdrawn or showing up consistently late for work.
''Unreliability is a red flag,'' he said. ''Unfortunately most managers ignore it … But it's much better to take early intervention …''
The first sign of stress in the workplace for Rachael Robertson was a complaint about breakfast.
Spending a year as manager at Australia's Davis Station in Antarctica, Ms Robertson said the stress of working and living with 18 colleagues in sub-zero conditions was more difficult to deal with than the harsh environment.
''It was around September, we'd got through midwinter, had a big celebration, but it was still a long time before anyone was going home. People started getting irritable, the small things became big, like how to cook the bacon became an issue.''
Ms Robertson said tell-tale signs of not coping included people becoming quieter at meal times or skipping meals altogether, or showing up to work late.
On the third day of changed behaviour she would intervene. ''I was initially reluctant, but I found just asking the question - are you OK? - really helped,'' she said.
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