Job stress identified

Press, 23 January 1988, Page 39

Job stress identified

PA Wellington If you’re feeling unfulfilled and sluggish in your job, the chances are it is not your fault, says a visiting consultant on workplace motivation.

Mr Arthur Miller, an American who has pioneered techniques of identifying what people are best at doing, says many people remain frustrated throughout their careers because their individual strengths are not identified and applied.

In some companies as many as half the staff, at all levels of management, are under-used in this way, resulting in massive loss in potential productiv-

ity, he says. Much of this is due to a tendency of management to restrict people to preordained positions, rather than assigning responsibilities according to a person’s individual strengths. “The idea that a person is a blank slate to be written on by life is essentially nonsense. People are very well defined and desire to be in jobs that make use of their talents.”

Mr Millar says failure to realise this is not only wasteful of people’s potential contribution, but is also a significant source of stress-related illness.