KEVIN HUME Consultancy

Again broader industrial and economic changes further impact on stress levels in the workplace. And, yes, indeed the pace of change in our ever creative, ever destructive capitalist economy is measurably increasing - it's not just all in your mind - and it is wreaking more havoc and lifting stress levels as never before.

On ACIRRT figures 50% of Australian workplaces have retrenched in the past two years and 71% of those have retrenched twice. A culture of continuing restructuring and redefinition of workplace tasks, management structures and so on has become part of the Australian work experience in the 1990s and beyond. All these changes add to potential work stresses - and incidentally further complicate management's tasks.

Workplace flexibility, outsourcing and revised working hours have been areas of individual employee concern and industrial action over the past two decades. Almost 40% of Australian full-time workers have now working hours which are not fixed. More than 40% work regular overtime and 15% work more than fifteen hours overtime each week. Only one-third of this additional work is paid overtime. A majority of workers in Australia report a decline in the balance between work and family responsibilities. And many more report increasing work-related stress.

An ACTU survey of 8000 unionists five years ago found major sources of stress included management issues including lack of communication and consultation (53%), increased workloads (42%), job insecurity and lack of career opportunities (36%), organizational change and restructuring (29%) the major villains in creating hazardous levels of stress. Poor work organization (17%), insufficient training (16%), inadequate staff and resources (15%) and long hours and bad rostering (14%) were surprisingly perhaps of less significance.

'Hugely significant in changing the way I work. I now know staying relaxed is the key to being more productive and changing my thinking to work better. Good stuff and simple too!' Mark Climber, accounts executive, Melbourne.