Furthermore, research finds that there is a 62% increase in stress related absenteeism over the last 2 years.

A recent survey of HR Directors and business leaders conducted by HR specialists revealed that three quarters of companies polled were finding it difficult to recruit top talent, despite the growing unemployment figures. In addition 62% of those surveyed had also seen an increase of absenteeism due to stress over the last two years.

In response to questioning about how best to spend money on engaging with employees, over half of the respondents in The Curve Group survey said that their strategy would be to invest in leadership development to create clear direction for their organisations. Surprisingly only in 1 in 10 companies would increase salaries or pay larger bonuses, while just 1 in 20 companies would hire additional personnel to relieve pressure on the workforce.

Change in priorities

Perhaps the most interesting result of the survey was the focus on the need to develop organisational leaders in order to have a significant impact on employee engagement. For many organisations this represents a change in priorities. Resources for HR programmes have been squeezed and so finding cost effective options for developing internal leaders to drive employee engagement rather than investing in employee benefits has come to the fore.

Lyndsey Simpson, Co-owner of The Curve Group, said: "These figures indicate some of the challenges facing employers in times of economic uncertainty. Redundancies or headcount freezes put pressure on the remaining workforce, leading to increased levels of stress. At the same time those who have a job often feel they should remain in a ‘safe’ position rather than risk moving, thus reducing the talent pool.

"While this shift is understandable in the short term, the danger is in neglecting the needs of the wider workforce – which may contain the stars of tomorrow - and leads to potential disengagement and reduced levels of output."