Stress:

employees training
www.ohtoolkit.co.uk

Contents

What is the issue?

What is the issue in our organisation?
Why should we deal with it?
What are our responsibilities?
How do we deal with stress in our organisation?
What do the Management Standards mean for me?
What are my responsibilities?
What can I do if Im stressed?
What next?
Where can I find out more?

What is the issue?

Stress has been defined by the HSE as:
The adverse reaction people have to excessive
pressure or other types of demand placed on them.

Source: www.hse.gov.uk/stress/index.htm

What is the issue?

In Great Britain:
16.7 % workers say they find their work either
very or extremely stressful (2009 survey)
work-related stress accounts for approximately a
third of all new incidences of ill health
continued

What is the issue?

each case of stress-related ill health leads to an
average of 26.8 working days lost
an estimated 11.4 million working days were lost
to stress, depression and anxiety in 2008/9

Source: www.hse.gov.uk/stress/why.htm

What is the issue in

our organisation?
Insert your own data

Why should we
deal with it?
Legal our responsibility under health and safety
law
Moral our obligation as a good employer
Bottom line dealing with stress at work not only
reduces sickness absence levels but can improve
things such as

Source: www.hse.gov.uk/stress/why.htm

Why should we
deal with it?

Employee commitment to work

Staff performance and productivity
Staff turnover or intention to leave
Staff recruitment and retention
Customer satisfaction
Organisational image and reputation

Source: www.hse.gov.uk/stress/why.htm

What are our employers

responsibilities?
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires
employers to secure the health (including mental
health), safety and welfare of employees at work
This includes providing a safe place of work, safe
systems of work, and information and training

What are our employers

responsibilities?
The Management Regulations 1999 require
suitable and sufficient assessments of health and
safety risks at work to be carried out this
includes assessing the risk of stress-related ill
health

How could we deal with

stress in our organisation?
The HSE has developed Management Standards
These act as a yardstick against which
organisations can measure their performance,
and provide indicators of good practice
The Management Standards approach helps
employers work with their employees and
representatives to carry out risk assessments for
stress
Source: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg406.pdf

How could we deal with

stress in our organisation?
The target is for all organisations to match the
performance of the top 20% of employers that are
successfully minimising work-related stress. This
means your employer will need to

How could we deal with

stress in our organisation?
Assess the risk and potential causes of stress, eg
by looking at sickness absence records or attitude
surveys, or conducting specific stress-related
surveys or getting feedback from focus groups
continued

How could we deal with

stress in our organisation?
Use these to assess how the organisation is
performing in relation to the six risk factors. This
includes managers talking to their teams to
identify stress hot spots
Consult with staff to decide on improvement
targets and action plans

Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg424.pdf

How could we deal with

stress in our organisation?
To help employers understand how to do a risk
assessment for work-related stress, the HSE has
identified six key areas (or risk factors) that can
be causes of work-related stress

How could we deal with

stress in our organisation?
These six areas are:

the demands of your job

your control over your work
the support you get from managers and
colleagues

your relationships at work

your role in the organisation

change and how its managed

What do the Management

Standards mean for me?
Your manager will have access to advice to help
improve their understanding of stress and take it
seriously
If youre experiencing work-related stress, you
should be listened to and help should be
available

What do the Management

Standards mean for me?
In the past, the causes of stress were well known
but little if anything was done to fix them. The new
Standards mean managers now have to work
with you to find solutions, so your problems
should reduce over time
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 are my
responsibilities?
You have a duty to take care of your health and
safety
Speak up if youre having a problem
Take part in the risk assessment process
Read management communications
Attend training
Help yourself

What can I do if
Im stressed?
Identify causes and what you can do to make
things better
Tell your manager at an early stage. If your stress
is work related, this will give them the chance to
help and stop the situation getting worse. Even if
it isnt work related, they may be able to do
something to reduce some of your pressure
continued
Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg424.pdf

What can I do if
Im stressed?
If the source of pressure is your line manager,
find out what procedures are in place to deal with
this
If there arent any, talk to your employee
representative, HR department, employee
assistance programme or counselling service (if
you have one)
continued

What can I do if
Im stressed?
Alternatively, talk to your trade union safety
representative or union representative, who can
also provide advice on a range of work-related
topics

Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg424.pdf

What next?
Explain your organisations policy towards
employees, including answers to the following
Whats my role in the process?
What is my organisation doing?
Where can I find out more?

Where can I find

out more?
Theres a free leaflet that explains all about the
Standards at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg424.pdf