stress management

“The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work.”

the health & safety executive definition of stress.

THE EXTENT OF WORK RELATED-STRESS ILLNESS

Too many workers are trapped in highly stressful environments because of poor work organisation and negative behaviours in their place of work including bullying, victimisation, harassment, abuse and discrimination.

As a result, levels of stress-related mental and physical illness caused or made worse by work are very high.

Those at the bottom of the workplace pecking order are often the major victims of stress-related illness.

Sufferers are not weak individuals who are incapable of coping with the normal demands of working life.

The reverse is often the case, and it can be those who refuse to bend under these pressures and who refuse to admit to themselves that they are being overwhelmed who often succumb to incapacitating stress-related illnesses.

We can describe highly stressful workplaces as ‘dysfunctional’ because they work to the benefit neither of the employee nor of the employer.

The former can suffer from a range of stress-related mental and physical illnesses and the latter reaps this harvest in terms of low productivity, low employee morale and rapid staff turnover.

Instead of taking measures to prevent this epidemic of injury, too often managers or employers make excessive demands, neglect their common-law duty of care and clearly ignore the cost to their organisations of sick pay, long-term absence, reduced productivity and potential claims for compensation by workers made ill by their negligence.

However, it is the human cost of work-related stress, in terms of wrecked lives and relationships, debilitating mental and physical illness and sometimes, tragically, death that should concern us most.

use of technology to control, monitor and track workers
the threat of, or actual violence (verbal and/or physical abuse)
lack of a clear job description or chain of command
job insecurity
lack of an understanding leadership
cuts in government and local government funding leading to increased workloads
long-hours culture
no recognition or reward for good job performance
no opportunity to voice complaints
managers do not listen to and act upon concerns raised
lack of employee representation and consultation
lack of control
no opportunity to use personal talents or abilities
inadequate time to complete tasks to personal or company standards
unreasonable workload
unremitting or prolonged pressures
confusion caused by conflicting demands
misuse of procedures (discipline/ performance/ absence)

THE HSE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS

Unite recognises that stress in the workplace is today one of the largest cause of work related sickness/absenteeism.

It is a growing problem and will have major social and economic consequences.

The problem needs to be tackled urgently by employers and trade unions.

The problem that needs to be addressed is not only one of how to best achieve rehabilitation for sufferers but also how to recognise the stressors in the workplace and relate them to the organisation’s safety policy and culture, and therefore prevent stress related illness in individuals from the start.

Work place stressors have been categorised by the HSE as the following;

THE DEMAND OF THE JOB

This includes issues such as workload, work patterns and the work environment.

The employer provides the employees with adequate and achievable targets in relation to the agreed hours of work, ensuring skills and abilities are matched to the job and are designed to be within their capabilities, ensuring any concerns about the working environment are addressed.

To achieve the standard, the employer develops personal work plans to ensure staff know what their job involves. Conducting regular one to one meetings with individuals to discuss their workload and any anticipated challenges.

Weekly team meetings are held to discuss the anticipated workload for the forthcoming week and to deal with any planned absences.

Ensuring sufficient resources are available for staff to be able to do their jobs (time, equipment etc). Adjust work patterns to cope with peaks and staff absences this needs to be fair and agreed with employees. Providing formal or informal training to help staff prioritise, or information on how they can seek help if they have conflicting priorities.

LACK OF CONTROL

How much say do the people have over the way they work?

where possible, employees have control over their pace of work; employees are encouraged to use their skills and initiative to do their work; where possible, employees are encouraged to develop new skills to help them undertake new and challenging pieces of work; the organisation encourages employees to develop their skills; employees have a say over when breaks can be taken; and employees are consulted over their work patterns.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND SUPPORT AT WORK

Includes encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues.

Policies and procedures are in place to adequately encourage managers to support their staff; employees know what support is available and how and when to access it; encouraging employees to support their colleagues and know how to access the required resources to do their job receiving regular and constructive feedback.

WORK RELATIONSHIPS

Includes promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour.

Promoting positive behaviours at work to avoid conflict and ensure fairness; employees share information relevant to their work; the organisation has agreed policies and procedures to prevent or resolve unacceptable behaviour; systems are in place to enable and encourage managers to deal with unacceptable behaviour; and systems are in place to enable and encourage employees to report unacceptable behaviour.

CONFLICTING ROLES

Do people understand their role within the organisation and does the organisation ensure roles are not conflicting?

The organisation ensures that, as far as possible, the different requirements it places upon employees are compatible; the organisation provides information to enable employees to understand their role and responsibilities; the organisation ensures that, as far as possible, the requirements it places upon employees are clear; and systems are in place to enable employees to raise concerns about any uncertainties or conflicts they have in their role and responsibilities.

CHANGE

How is organisational change (large and small) managed and communicated?

As an employee you are provided with timely information to enable you to understand the reasons for proposed changes; the organisation ensures adequate consultation on changes and provides opportunities for you (Unite representatives) to influence proposals; you are aware of the probable impact of any changes to your job. If necessary, you are given training to support any changes in your job; you are aware of timetables for changes; and have access to relevant support during changes.

One or any combination of the stressors can cause stress-related illness to an individual, and cause problems for the workplace structure and organisation.

By looking at each of these stressors and addressing them in the employer’s safety management system –including workplace inspections, surveys and risk assessment – more can be done to solve the problem collectively, at the same time recognising that individuals may also need specific help.

To put this in place the emphasis must be on training for the management directly involved, consultation to be carried out with Unite safety reps and guaranteed confidentiality of information provided by workers on stress.

An effective stress policy can be a useful mechanism to reduce and prevent occupational stress. It is essential that such policies are developed and monitored jointly by management and Unite safety reps.

The objectives of the policy should be to prevent stress by identifying the causes and eliminating them, to deal with problems as they arise, to promote openness and guarantee a ‘blame free’ culture, and provide rehabilitation of employees suffering from stress for example through confidential independent counselling.

Employers with good workplace safety records are already incorporating stress into their hazard identification process and voluntarily putting measures in place but unfortunately this is not the general trend.

Unite believes that unless existing legal obligations are strengthened and enforced the problem of stress at work will not be taken seriously,

and measures will not be put in place to deal with this growing problem.

As with many other health and safety issues some employers will only comply if they have to do so by law.

If stress is successfully tackled in the workplace, the organisation can enjoy a healthier workforce, lower absence due to sickness, improved performance and service, lower accident rates and better internal and external relationships

TACKLING THE PROBLEM

The Health and Safety Executive Management Standards for Work-related stress have been designed to assist employers in identifying causes of stress in the workplace and develop and implement solutions to minimise the effects on workers.

Unite has welcomed this development as it gives real support to employers wishing to tackle stress at work.

The standards give health and safety enforcement officers a means of assessing whether an employer is failing to manage stress.

Unite wants the standards to be used to enforce the Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1999 when employers fail to manage stress at work despite the assistance and advice given in the standards by the HSE.

In the absence of specific legislation, the HSE’s Stress Management Standards are the most effective way of dealing with stress

At each stage the ‘What should be happening / States to be achieved’ sections define a desirable set of conditions for organisations to work towards.

The aim is to simplify the risk assessment process and at the same time provide a measure by which performance in tackling the key causes of stress can be made.

It is important that Unite are involved in the introduction of The Management Standards at every stage.

Without proper consultation they are unlikely to be effective if the employer tries to introduce them without the necessary employee buy in.

“Workplace stress is one of the biggest causes of employee absence – and also one of the more difficult issues to manage. The Management Standards will help employers identify and manage stress at work by providing a framework to pinpoint particular causes of stress, as well as achievable solutions.”

- CIPD

WHAT DO THE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS MEAN TO ME?

As a result of HSE’s Management Standards

Your manager will have access to advice to help improve their understanding of stress and take it seriously. If you are experiencing work-related stress, you should be listened to and help should be available from your manager, trade union or employee representative. In the past, the causes of stress were well known but little if anything was done to fix them.

The Standards mean managers will now have to work with you to find solutions, so your problems should reduce over time. The processes involved with the Standards mean that employees and their representatives will be given an opportunity to give their views and to help create action plans to help reduce stress at work.

WHAT ROLE DO I PLAY?

As an employee you have a right to have your health and safety at work protected. To protect your rights at work you should

Familiarise yourself with HSE’s risk factors and Management Standards so you can contribute more fully to discussions.
Talk to your union safety representative or your employee representative (where you have one) about your employer’s approach to the Management Standards. If you don’t have a union or staff association you could also talk to your line manager, a colleague, your human resources department or someone you trust that can help.
Help to develop and put in place effective plans by taking part in discussions or stress risk assessments. Your manager will need information from you, so make sure you complete any questionnaires when you are asked to and give open and honest answers. If you are worried about confidentiality or any other part of the process speak to your trade union safety representative, your employee representative or your manager. They will be able to give you assistance or advice.
Volunteer to attend discussion groups, action planning meetings etc. They’re for your benefit, and your managers will need your help in deciding what will work and what will not.
Remember that consultation is a two-way process. Your managers must take your opinions into consideration when deciding what actions to take, and must communicate the reasons for their decisions.
Read all communications. Make sure you understand the reason for decisions and provide feedback if required.
Attend any stress management training courses arranged by your employer, which will help you understand stress and how to deal with it.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I'M BECOMING STRESSED?

Try to identify the causes and what you can do to make things better. Ideally, tell your manager at an early stage. If your stress is work-related, this will give them the chance to help and prevent the situation getting worse. Even if it isn’t work-related, they may be able to do something to reduce some of your pressure.

If the source of pressure is your line manager, find out what procedures are in place to deal with this. If there aren’t any, talk to your trade union representative or employee representative who can provide advice on a range of work-related topics.

Alternatively, you can speak to your HR department or Employee Assistance Programme/counselling service if either exists. Many employees are reluctant to talk about stress at work, due to the stigma attached to it.

"They fear they will be seen as weak, but stress is not a weakness and can happen to anyone"