Emerging stress: the AIDP on the front line

“The issue of return-to-work stress has not been widely explored in terms of established practices, but it is a matter of great concern within organisations. That is why, at Aidp, we have begun working on creating standards to address it.” Matilde Marandola, president of the Italian Association for Personnel Management (Aidp) – a people management network comprising 4,500 companies – outlines a landscape in which few organisations yet focus specifically on returning to work, albeit within an evolving scenario: ‘In the most forward-thinking organisations – those most attentive to the individual – there is a perception that this issue could be either a major problem or a major opportunity, because it is an example of a situation that generates stress, which in turn can affect an employee’s performance and engagement.’

On the one hand, there are the expectations and pressures that arise in the workplace after a period of holiday; on the other, a possible lack of flexibility within organisations. “One of the mechanisms that could certainly help is the co-creation of flexible working arrangements inspired by maximum personalisation, including through consultation processes or surveys,” says Marandola. Specifically, according to the president of Aidp, the measures could include tools such as a more liberal and flexible use of remote working for an initial period or the adoption of a short working week immediately after the end of the holidays. And, above all, the use of training sessions as a tool for stress management.

‘Abroad, particularly in the banking and insurance sectors, large groups have designed and implemented solutions to manage the issue of returning to work, but the issue is particularly pressing in Italia, because in our country there is a huge concentration of holidaymakersduring the two central weeks of August, and this exacerbates the problem, as the number of people under pressure at the same time is very high, which risks making the situation explosive.”

Listening, co-creation and personalisation therefore become indispensable tools, in Aidp’s view, for tackling this issue, building on what has already been done, for example, to address stress associated with returning to work after maternity leave or after illness, “for which we already have memoranda of understanding in place with specialist associations”, says Marandola. He concludes: “Companies must increasingly equip themselves to be welcoming places.”