David Price said the first step in managing stress in the workplace is to become more aware of its causes and effects.
New figures released by Health Assured show they received more than 14,000 stress-related calls last year, with half of those from people over 40 years old.
The figures also reveal around two thirds (63%) of stress-related calls were from woman and 37% were from men.
In addition, they show May was the busiest month last year for calls relating to stress.
“The first step to managing stress is to develop awareness of the causes of stress and the effects of stress in the workplace,” said Mr Price.
“Whilst experiencing some stress is normal, employees who feel over-stressed or are suffering from work-related stress are at risk of becoming unhealthy.
“Employees themselves can be provided with training or awareness initiatives on how to determine their stress levels, how to manage stress and when to speak to management about this,” he added.
“Managers will require training on how to spot a member of staff who is suffering from stress. Although they are unlikely to become experts, and each individual will differ in how they project stress, usual signs of stress include changes in behaviour, the standard of work or the employee’s attitude towards tasks.
“Managers who suspect an employee is suffering from stress need to hold a discussion with the individual themselves. This will help determine whether the individual is experiencing stress, what factors are affecting them e.g. whether this is work-related or personal factors, and how the workplace can help the employee. Without this discussion, the manager can make assumptions, which could, in the long run, result in detrimental changes being introduced.
“Additionally, employees should be actively encouraged to approach their managers to discuss their health. Where a member of staff discloses they are feeling stressed, the same private discussion can be held,” said Mr Price.
“Actively supporting employees in the workplace will help reduce stress and prevent employees from suffering detrimental levels of stress. Where the cause of stress has previously been identified as work-related, small changes to reduce the pressure on the employee will help manage this.
“This could include, for example, temporarily reducing workloads, providing additional support or reviewing deadlines. Even if stress is being affected by factors outside of work, employers can still provide support to aid employees. This may be through an Employee Assistance Programme, providing training on managing stress and promoting external advice or support services.
“Stress, by itself, is not a mental condition that is classed as a disability under the Equality Act 2010. It can, however, lead to further medical conditions or physical conditions that can fall within the definition of disability, such as depression, anxiety or heart disease. Proactively talking to employees with stress, and providing workplace support, will help ensure stress is managed before it progresses.”
With cases of workplace stress on the increase and the negative effects on workers, business and the economy evermore noticeable it’s time to take a proactive approach to managing stress. Thinking about causes of stress across the whole organisation and addressing them before they become an issue for workers is more effective than dealing with indivudual cases when they arise. Managing stress at work is just good planning and risk management and can be built into existing business functions and practices. Changing the way we think about workplace stress and treating it as an organisational issue rather than an issue… Read more »
So, place responsibility on the employee with little on the employer-the most likely source of the stress. Come on, get real, employers typically have the most impact on their workforce eg zero hours precarious working and little control of the work process by workers.
Much much more is required of business leaders
Good to see I’m not the only one who thinks Workplace Stress is a Organisational issue that needs addressing by senior management.
C’mon, it’s not like, you know, the causes of stress are a mystery or somehow counter intuitive in the digital age as the process of de-skilling in an Hourglass Economy (haves and have-not’s) roles on increasing pressure and demands on human resources exacerbated by sub-optimal display screen ergonomics impairing productivity by 20% accounting for 30 of the 57.2 days presenteeism. Practical vocational skills entirely replaced by solely, so called, academic text based curriculum’s in schools excluding the functionally illiterate slow readers adding to the 30% of UK population illiteracy at higher risk of suffering the debilitating symptoms of eye-strain, CVS,… Read more »
Just re-read the last paragraph again and that has flagged-up the issue of stress related disability under the Equality Act 2010 when any DSE user operator, that has been experiencing the debilitating occupational health consequences of eye-strain presenting in Asthenopia (WHO ICD medical term for CVS / Screen Fatigue), due to sub-optimally adapted, customised / optimised display screen ergonomics for 12 months or more will qualify as disabled !!!
A problem for those working toward migrating to ISO 45001 and addressing “Work Exposure Limits”.