Stress in your workplace

Accountancy is a stressful business. While it may not have the dangers of being a firefighter or the physical demands of a builder's labourer, the need to get work done does mean pressure that can be hard to deal with.

A full workload and tight deadlines make long hours and stress is inevitable – and that can lead to real mental health problems, which manifest themselves as difficulty sleeping and depression. Too much stress makes work targets even harder to meet, and spills over into your life outside of the office.

The attitude of old hands who believe that they went through the same pressures and came out unscathed is prevalent, but not helpful. The pressures are greater than they have ever been. Those who are most likely to be affected by stress and mental health issues are often young professionals undergoing training and exams. Research has found that 18 to 24-year olds feel constantly stressed as they’re expected to deliver billable hours while simultaneously studying for exams. The need to become qualified and then employed means a constant high-stress environment. Millennials, the group born in the 1980s to the early 2000s, may be seen as particularly prone to experience this kind of difficulties. The need to pass 15 exams to gain ACA and then to find an employer - all while facing a full workload - can mean a level of pressure that previous generations simply did not experience.

There are many reasons why

The profession is going through a challenging time, with a challenging economic outlook thanks to Brexit, the economy and a potentially seismic change of government. These pressures come on top of digital transformation and changes to the government’s rules and regulations, plus there is the constant pressure of competition.

It all means increased pressure on professionals, and especially newcomers to the industry. But businesses are starting to consider mental wellbeing as more of a priority, and employees also now expect more from their employers.

As campaigns around mental health now emphasise, the role of firms in supporting wellbeing is vital. Some of the bigger accountancy firms already have champions of stress – and this can be crucial to hiring. People want to work for organisations that support them, and are looking to get something back from their employer other than their salary at the end of the month, and the promise of a glittering career in the future. They want to work in an environment that nurtures them as an individual, rather than sees them as an expendable component of a corporate machine to be discarded as soon as cracks start to show.

Some stress may be inevitable. Too much will certainly affect the quality and quantity of your work – and it is proven to affect health. In extreme cases it can be a killer.

Your practice needs to find ways to deal with stress – or face consequences which could include reduced performance, legal action or worse from disgruntled employees.

Looking to cover the costs of HR or increased staff costs? Find out how business finance can support your plans 

What solutions are available?

There now exist a number of specialist consultancies which aim to help accountancy firms understand the needs of their employees and to deliver a healthier and more supportive workplace. By providing in-house training or referral systems they ensure that, if an employee is struggling, there can be someone to turn to with a sympathetic ear and a range of professional support skills.

Overcoming the ingrained stigma around mental health, and the attitude among management and those employees suffering that showing the symptoms of stress is weakness, is often a key part of their service.

Many of them point to the fact that they can deliver not just an emergency service, but positive benefits to the business.  Improved stress management can improve productivity and reduce sickness. Promoting wellbeing within the workplace could mean financial benefits for firms, plus better employee retention and enhanced job satisfaction.

However, it may not be necessary to use an outside consultancy. Simply building a healthy relationship with employees and showing a personal interest could help stress from becoming an issue. When employees feel supported they can deal with greater pressure simply because they no longer feel alone, and have somewhere to turn for help. It will also provide an opportunity to spot the warning signs and behavioural changes that can indicate that an employee is struggling with stress and mental health.

These signs are varied. Smokers may smoke more, coffee drinkers tend to drink more coffee, while those who might enjoy a quick drink after work may suddenly tend to make a night of it. Another tell-tale is isolation – avoiding colleagues and even conversation. Short-term sickness absence is a key sign. Psychologists would identify it as a fight-or-flight reaction, where running away always seems the best option.

Dealing with the financial effects of stress

As with most things in business, dealing with stress can mean costs. Calling in outside experts will have a clear cost, but you may also need to bring in more staff to deal with workloads, or to adopt automation to deal with the routine headaches that eat into your staff’s time.

At Rangewell we can provide ways to deal with the costs. We often work with accountants to provide funding solutions for their clients, but our service - which allows us to find the most appropriate type of finance and the most competitive lender from the entire UK market - can be just as valuable to help you deal with your own business costs.  

Our team of business finance experts work with you to get to know your business and understand the kind of arrangement and features that are right for you, so when you are dealing with your own growth challenges, you have the support you need.