Stress - The Problem is Growing

The Issue

Stress in the workplace appears to be a growing issue. Statistics indicate that stress has overtaken the well established “bad back” as the reason for sick days off work.

In our business we find a range of attitudes amongst our customers. Some organisations take the issue very seriously. They have policies in place and procedures designed to avoid stress situations arising in the first place and, if a case of stress does occur, to handle it effectively. That means dealing with the causes as well as caring for the person suffering from stress.

At the other extreme, we encounter the occasional employer who is reluctant to acknowledge that stress is a problem at all. Some people discount it as “all in the mind” and think that people who claim to be suffering from stress need to “pull themselves together”. The majority of employers tend to fall somewhere between these two extremes.

Whatever our personal opinion about stress, the government, the medical establishment and the courts all recognise it as a real issue that needs to be addressed by every employer.

In spite of its increasing prominence, there is still widespread uncertainty about the causes of stress and the options available for managing it, yet tackling stress has to be good for everyone – for the wellbeing of employees and the profitability of the companies that employ them.

If you feel wary about stress and how to handle it, call in one of our advisors to explain what it is and how to address it in your organisation.

HSE’s Approach

Rather than treating the issue as a Pandora’s box, the HSE recommend bringing it into the open and dealing with it head on.

First, however, they are at pains to draw a clear distinction between “pressure” and “stress”. The former can be motivational and many people find that they perform at their best under pressure. Stress, on the other hand, is an adverse reaction that people sometimes experience when subjected to excessive pressure, usually for an extended period. Pressure can actually enhance productivity, whereas stress can be debilitating in the extreme and may result in a variety of illnesses.

Stress Factors

The HSE’s approach starts by recognizing the primary factors that can result in workplace stress. In no particular order they are:

Work Demands – arising from the combination of patterns of work and the environment in which they take place
Personal Control – which refers to an individual’s influence over the way in which they are allowed to do their work
Support Structures – including such factors as resources and encouragement available from their employer, management and colleagues
Working Relationships – positive relationships at all levels that are free from unacceptable conduct
Defined Roles – whereby each employee understands their role in the business without having to reconcile conflicts between different roles they are required to fulfil.
Managed Change – such that when change is necessary, it is introduced in a controlled manner and properly communicated to those who are affected.

Stress Management Standards

The HSE has compiled a set of Management Standards that address stress factors. For each one, they briefly state what would be typical of an organisation where stress is well managed, along with suggestions of what each standard means in terms of actions or conditions that should exist in the workplace.

The HSE’s ‘Management Standards for Work-related Stress’ provide a clear blueprint that can be applied in any organisation that is seeking to tackle stress.

They also suggest how the standards can be maintained in practice through dialogue, risk assessments, surveys, etc. in order to identify and address problem areas.

HSE Resources for Managing Stress

You can read more about the HSE approach in their free leaflet ‘Tackling Stress: The Management Standards approach’, available from their website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg406.pdf

The HSE also publishes a comprehensive strategy for managing stress, which is available on their website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards. It includes references to a variety of tools to help implement the strategy, and the full toolkit is available from http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/downloads.htm

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.

To discuss your requirements, without any obligation on your part, please gives us a call on 01744 766000 or complete the Enquiry Form on our website.

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