Dr Kwesi Amponsah-Tawiah, a lecturer at the University of Ghana, has revealed that workplace stress can worsen the health conditions of some workers and adversely affect their outputs.
According to him, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified stress to be a health epidemic in the 21stcentury and a grievous problem within organisations.
He mentioned some of the causes of work-related stress as long hours of working, heavy workload, some changes within the organisation and tight deadlines.
The rest were job insecurity, harassment of all forms, discrimination and poor relationships with colleagues or bosses within the workplace.
“Stress, if not managed properly can contribute to health-related impairments such as cardio-vascular disease and disorder,” he added.
Dr Amponsah-Tawiah was speaking at this year’s World Safety Day programme organised by the Ghana Institute of Safety and Environmental Professionals (GhISEP) at Tarkwa in the Western Region.
The day is marked annually to promote safe, healthy and decent work. This year’s event was on the theme: ‘Workplace Stress, A Collective Challenge’.
He stated that “some people normally resort to the unhealthy way of managing stress such as alcohol and drug abuse, smoking and unhealthy diet which could increase the rate of workplace accidents.”
Dr Amponsah-Tawiah indicated that Ghanaian workers were not lazy, but when workers were expected to do more with fewer resources, it could have a negative impact on their performances and they could even become tensed.
He revealed that the economic burden of stress at workplaces was huge as it affected the physical, social and psychological well-being of individual workers and prevent them from giving of their best.
The lecturer, therefore, admonished employers to, from time to time, engage the services of psychologists who would use the appropriate techniques or medication to help minimise or prevent stress among workers within organisations.
He mentioned some of the symptoms of stress within the workplace as fatigue, headaches, depression, anxiety, irritability, among others.
Managing Director of Anglogold Ashanti, Iduapriem Mine in Tarkwa, Sicelo Ntuli, disclosed that many workers were facing greater pressure to meet the demands of modern working life.
“But employers need to do more to efficiently manage employees so that they do not get to the high stress level which has its own impacts,” he added.
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