Did you know that over 11 Million days are lost each year through stress-related illness in the UK alone costing around £5 billion? Employers have a legal right to protect their staff from stress by carrying out a risk assessment and by acting on it.
How do you do that? Well, firstly, what is stress? It is defined by the Health and Safety Executive to be:
‘the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them’.
So, you would assume that relieving the pressure and demands placed on your staff would relieve their stress, right? But not all people are affected by stress in the same way. Things such as the skills and experience they have, their lifestyle, age or their disability may all affect whether an employee can cope. Therefore, there is no one rule that will apply to each and every person when it comes to dealing with their stress levels. We have to advise headteachers, governors, directors, and managers on HR case’s related to stress, their workplace culture, risk assessments, supporting them to understand the benefits of investing in employee well-being strategies and to ensure the relevant process is followed. Our clients are consistently nervous about tackling staffing issues relating to work stress related absence.
So let’s consider what the 6 main areas that can affect stress levels and which should be assessed and managed appropriately to effectively manage stress in the workplace. These are:
- Demands – such as workloads, the work environment and work patterns
- Control - how much say the person has in the way they do their work
- Support - this includes the encouragement and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues
- Relationships - promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour
- Role – making sure people understand their role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures that they do not have conflicting roles
- Change - how any organisational change is managed and communicated in the organisation
Although stress is NOT an illness it can make an individual or groups of staff ill and recognising the signs will help employers to take steps to stop, lower and manage stress in their workplace.
What are the signs?
Signs of stress in an individual can be as simple as being late for work, taking time off, becoming nervous, withdrawn, lacking in motivation or confidence, dip in previously good performance, becoming tearful, aggressive or sensitive and more emotional at work, or a change in their mood swings. Stress can affect teams, highlighted by arguments, breaking out within the team, divisiveness, poor morale, high staff turnover/staff absence, complaints and grievances. If not managed properly the employer could also find themselves having to defend a claim in court.
The HSE have produced a useful workbook that is aimed at helping employers to tackle work-related stress using the Management Standards approach. Accessing the experience of BIRCH-HR can also offer you loads of advice and tops tips on effectively managing stress in your workplace and resolving casework. Get in touch with us to discuss your HR requirements and see where we can add value.
BIRCH-HR
T: 0121 674 4230
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