PJEndicott

Stress - Frequently Asked Questions

What effect could stress have on my staff and organisation?
The Health and Safety Executive reports that:

• a total of 14 million working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety in 2006/7.

• work-related stress in the UK costs about £3.7 billion per year.

How might I become aware of stress in my organisation?

It may show up as:

• an increase in sickness absence

•  reduced work performance

•  poor time-keeping

•  an increase in customer complaints

•  poor relationships between colleagues

•  high staff turnover

•  additional pressure on managers and colleagues who are required to shoulder additional responsibilities.

Can I choose to do nothing?
Employers who don’t tackle stress can leave themselves open to stress-related compensation claims from employees who have suffered ill-health from work-related stress.

The impact of stress for individuals can be serious as it can lead to a number of problems relating to their physical and mental health including depression, heart disease, high blood pressure, insomnia, digestive disorders and diabetes.

People also experience pressure from things happening outside work, such as family responsibilities and personal or financial issues. These pressures can impact on a person’s ability to perform at work. In the same way, work pressure can also spill over into a person’s home life, making it difficult to cope with their responsibilities and relationships outside of work. The boundary between home and work is clearly not black and white when it comes to stress, and the pressure of having to juggle work and home responsibilities can also lead to stress.
 

Why do we need to tackle stress?
If your organisation or any of its people are experiencing stress then you could benefit by tackling stress. The potential benefits to your organisation could include:

• More motivated and committed staff/volunteers

• Lower levels of absence due to sickness

• Improved work performance and productivity

• Improved time-keeping

• Reduced turnover of staff/volunteers

• Improved customer satisfaction

• Fewer customer complaints

• Avoiding stress-related compensation claims.

For individuals, there are compelling health-related reasons to tackle stress. Research has shown that reducing stress can reduce the incidence of:

Physical effects such as:

• heart disease

• back pain

• headaches

• gastro-intestinal disturbances

• various minor illnesses

Psychological effects such as:

• anxiety

• depression.

Which Health and Safety Laws apply to stress at work?
There are no specific laws on controlling stress at work, but the general health and safety laws do apply to stress.

• Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers have a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all their employees. Employees also have legal duties to take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and of others and to co-operate with the employer so that the organisation can meet its legal obligations.

• Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers have a duty to undertake risk assessments to assess the health and safety risks to which their employees are exposed at work. This includes any stress-related risks.

• Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, employers have a duty not to discriminate against any employees on account of a disability, as defined under the Act. This involves making reasonable adjustments to the workplace or to the way the work is done. Ill-health arising from, or exacerbated by stress at work may constitute a disability under the Act.

Do I have a duty of care to my colleagues and staff?
All organisations have a general duty of care in relation to their staff. Ill-health resulting from work-related stress has to be treated in the same way as ill-health arising from physical causes in the workplace. This means that organisations have a legal duty to take reasonable care to ensure that health is not put at risk through excessive and sustained levels of stress arising from the way work is organised, or from the day-to-day demands placed on their workers. Although Stress is not recognised as an illness per se in the UK, it is known to be a contributory factor in many common diseases and disorders.


Where can I find out more about dealing with stress in my organisation?
The Health and Safety Executive have produced Management Standards on dealing with stress in the workplace and require every employer to conduct a risk assessment for health and safety hazards, including work-related stress.  The HSE has an extensive web site on stress that can be accesses at http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress

The HSE recommends a five-step approach to risk assessment:

• Identify the hazards

• Decide who might be harmed, and how.

• Evaluate the risk and take action

• Record the findings

• Monitor and review

In order to carry out the risk assessment it will be necessary to carry out the following:

• Secure commitment from management, employees and their representatives.

• Review or compile a Stress Policy

• Identify problem areas using existing data, the HSE tools and other surveys

• Evaluate the risks and address these using a range of methods which may include running focus groups and inviting solutions to specific problems

• Communicate the results and providing feedback to all employees, including dealing with individual concerns

• Develop an action plan

• Monitor the action plan regularly

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the measures taken