In today’s busy, everything-at-your-fingertips world, it’s no wonder that workplace stress is on the rise and in 2014 it affects more industries at a wider rate than ever.

As an employer you’ll know the strict regulations for health and safety compliance, but how do you spot, monitor and control mental health issues and stress management amongst your workforce?

The dramatic aftermath of an employee suffering from work-related stress, both on them and yourself, as an employer, is a difficult one that needs to be understood and treated with great care.

• The HSE defines work-related stress as: “The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work.” [Source: HSE]

Defining stress and day-to-day work pressures

Everybody has felt the pressure at work, it’s “part of the job”, but it is when that pressure transfers into stress, when there is an issue.

Daily work pressures help employees perform and meet those deadlines, but what happens when an employee doesn’t have chance to recover from that pressure, before they’re faced with the next one?

Typically speaking, a stressed out employee is suffering because of things in the workplace and their personal lives, but it is up to you to come up with a solution to take some of their expected work pressures off.

• The industries that reported the highest rates of work-related stress in the last three years were health, social work, education and public administration. [HSE 2012. Source: ISMA]
• Findings from the ninth annual NHS staff survey revealed that 30 per cent of NHS staff reported they had experienced stress related to their jobs last year – a rise from 29 per cent in 2010 – while, among ambulance staff, the figure hit 34 per cent. [IOSH 2012. Source: ISMA]
• Stress has become the most common cause of long-term sickness absence for both manual and non-manual employees, according to the CIPD/Simplyhealth Absence Management survey. [CIPD Survey October 2011. Source: ISMA]

Common signs of stress in a company or organisation:

• Complaints or negative feedback from customers
• Disputes and disaffection within the company and among employees
• Increase in complaints and grievances
• Increase in staff turnover
• Increased reports or murmurings of stress
• Increased sickness absence
• Poor performance or lower output

Requirements of employers with regards to work-related stress

Under UK law, all employers are subject to a ‘duty of care’, protecting employees’ health, safety and welfare – which include stress management.

The HSE introduced “Management Standards”, which gives targets for employers to reach when it comes to dealing with various risk factors for stress, which are identified as:

• The demands of an employee’s job
• Employee control over their own work
• Support an employee receives from managers and colleagues
• An employee’s relationships at work
• Their role in the organisation
• Change and how it’s managed

It is hoped that this guidance from HSE will help all employers reach the level of the current top 20% of employers who are successfully minimising and managing work-related stress.

Some responsibilities of directors, owners and managers include:

• Keep abreast of any factors that might indicate that there is a problem with stress-related illness in the workplace (see above).
• Make certain that regular risk assessments are taking place and that these are checked and updated regularly and that recommendations are followed through and adequately funded.
• Plan for stress-related risks when embarking on significant changes to or within the organisation.

HR and health and safety teams should be able to:

• Ensure that they are up to date with best practice relating to work-related stress.
• Make sure that any issues or concerns about risks to health as a result of stress at work are fed back to board members.

Responsibilities of line managers include:

• Determine whether various recurring issues, such as sickness, absenteeism or high staff turnover is being caused by stress.
• Understand how they will monitor and address potential sources of stress if they believe it exists.

All companies operate in different ways, which is why Business Health Partners can oversee the above responsibilities and overall stress management of a company.

Business Health Partners says…

Our occupational health services help oversee entire workforces and look for any risks to a workforce and employer, including stress-related conditions.

We can come in to your workplace and review each member of your team for various signs of health, fitness and wellbeing-related issues, ultimately saving you money, time and resources.

Business Health Partners are here to:

• Develop a systematic approach to dealing with long-term absence
• Understand the most appropriate responses to the specific circumstances of each case
• Identify the most useful sources of further guidance and information
• Ensure your organisation’s response to long-term absence is effective and in line with relevant legislation and best practice
• Get links to sources of advice, information and best practice

If you’d like to know more about the occupational health services, training and consultancy that we provide, why not call 07720 956789 or if you like what you hear, follow us at @BusinessHealth_.