Addressing Workplace Stress

By Guest Writer - Ros Coleman

The hot topic on 5th August 2003 was that West Dorset Hospitals NHS Trust became the first organisation to be issued with an "Improvement Notice" from the HSE in respect of its methods for tackling workplace stress. The Trust has until 15 December to assess stress levels within its 1100 workforce and implement a programme to address and reduce it.

Articles have appeared in various publications, including the Times, Guardian and Independent newspapers. At the time of writing this newsletter, the article could still be accessed on:

Guardian Newspaper

The implications of the story are that unless an organisation can prove it is actively taking steps to protect staff from hazards to health from workplace stress, it faces the threat of legal action under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and the Management of Health and Safety Regulations (1999).

Under the national programme "Securing Health Together", the HSC and HSE have established targets to achieve by 2004 and 2010, namely:

A reduction of 20% in work-related ill health
A reduction of 30% in workdays lost due to work-related ill health

Statistics based on HSE, CBI and TUC research indicate that, far from improving, the national situation with regard to stress seems to be escalating and significantly so. Although some organisations are taking steps to identify and address stress, the majority are not and now the HSE have taken the unprecedented step of issuing the first "Improvement Notice" in respect of workplace stress.

There is now a weight of evidence to support the fact that stress adversely affects employees' health and that this, in turn, is affecting organisations' productivity and thus profitability.

So why are organisations not assessing risks from stress?

There are many reasons but one of the main ones is that assessing risks of "stress" is not perceived as being so straightforward as other risk assessments such as environmental hazards, like a hole in a carpet, faulty wiring or extremes of temperature. In fact, this perception is correct. Stress is rather specialised and therefore it is important to learn about the subject, associated issues that have a bearing on it and the correct methods for risk assessment, before spending (and possibly wasting) valuable time and resources.

The great concern of many organisations to whom I have spoken is the uncertainty factor. If they were to undertake risk assessments for stress, what happens next? What would they find? How would they deal with it? Wouldn't it give the workforce carte blanche to take unlimited time off because stress is now "official"?

My response is that once a risk assessment is effectively undertaken and proper procedures are implemented, then workplace stressors (if any) will be revealed and understood. In other words:

Any existing stressors will be out in the open so they can be dealt with effectively. This removes the stressor at source - problem over - no more stress.
Any employee who may subsequently and genuinely suffer stress will have a clear procedure to follow in order to solve the problem.
Any employee who may currently use stress as an excuse to "pull a sickie" will no longer have that excuse.

It is clear that when properly managed, the organisation can only benefit. In many cases, addressing issues of stress turn out to be both simple and straightforward with much that can be handled in-house. If things become too complex to handle internally then, as with any other management tool or technique, specialist resource is always available if it's needed.

Other reasons for avoiding stress issues

Another reason why many organisations avoid the whole area of stress is that they are not really clear on what exactly stress is. In fact, many individuals question whether or not stress actually exists. Is it all in the mind? There are so many beliefs and opinions about what stress is and what it isn't that it becomes difficult to know who or what to believe, let alone what to do about it. Again, the first step in addressing this lack of understanding is to gain access to reliable information.

On a more positive note, as more organisations are starting to effectively address workplace stress, there is an increasing number of case studies that serve to illustrate the benefits, to individuals and organisations, of taking a proactive approach to stress. The HSE have also issued Management Standards to help businesses identify the main hazards leading to stress, along with the benchmarks against which HSE inspectors will be measuring organisations' performance.

All the issues raised in this newsletter, and many more, are addressed in our one-day management course on "Understanding Workplace Stress". You can find details of the course content on our website at www.edp-uk.com/courses/stress.htm. Alternatively, call or email our Business Development department for more information on dates and locations. You can contact them on 01744 766010 or by e-mail on mailto:enquiries@edp-uk.com

Ros Coleman

Ros Coleman is a qualified coach, stress management trainer/practitioner and NLP master practitioner. Based in the North West, she combines a private stress coaching practice with her involvement in the Ridgewalk Consultancy, of which she is a founder partner.

Her 21 years experience as a trainer/coach in the corporate world along with 11 years running her own business and her stress management experience provide the background for her work with businesses to identify and alleviate the symptoms of stress.

Contact EDP HS&E Consultants for all your health, safety and environment needs. We can check your current arrangements and advise you about any changes or improvements you need to make.

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