Empowering Manager
leadership through partnership
Handling Stress Positively
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Why should employers be interested in stress?
Pressure is part and parcel of all work and helps to keep us motivated. But excessive pressure can lead to stress, which undermines performance, is costly to employers and can make people ill.
Employers have a legal responsibilities to tackle work related stress. The HSE expects organisations to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for stress and to take action to tackle any problems identified. The HSE has also set up Management Standards to help organisations do this.
There are also sound business reasons for addressing stress at work. Research has shown work related stress to have adverse effects on organisations in terms of:
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employee commitment to work
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staff performance and productivity
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staff turnover and intention to leave
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attendance levels
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staff recruitment and retention
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customer satisfaction
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organisational image and reputation
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potential litigation
Work-related stress can also impact teams. For example, losing one colleague for an extended period with a stress related illness can have a dramatic impact on the workload and morale of the rest of the team.
By taking action to tackle the causes of stress, employers can prevent or reduce the impact of these problems on their organisation.
HSE advice and the Management Standards approach
In the past, interventions to deal with work related stress were mainly on an individual basis, often in the form of stress management courses for individuals. More recently a new approach is being endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive. Organisations are encouraged to measure themselves against Management Standards designed to reflect the conditions expected in an organisation with high levels of health, well being and organisational performance.
This new Management Standards approach brings the focus onto the organisation and causes of stress within it, rather than only concentrating on supporting individual stressed employees. Many employers are now using the Management Standards and HSE toolkits very successfully to ensure they are fulfilling their legal obligations and minimising work related stress.
Within this organisation level approach, the HSE also say that
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employers should acknowledge that stress has the potential to affect any member of staff, and
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all parties should work together to provide individual support to people experiencing stress and stress-related illness.
Successful people need to know how to handle stress well to stay successful. Yet many people still don't want to admit they are experiencing stress for fear of being stigmatised. The Handling Stress Positively programme is designed for people in stressful situations, at work or at home, to provide them with tools and support to identify what needs to happen to reduce the impacts of stress, and to take action. The Handling Stress Positively programme aims to support employees who want to improve their work/life balance, and reduce the impact of stress on themselves and those around them. Including the Handling Stress Positively programme in your organisation's Well-Being package will send a clear message that getting help with stress is encouraged, and complement the work you are doing to address organisational causes of stress.
See also Tai Chi for Everyone for information about having
Stressbusting Tai Chi sessions at your workplace.