Your Work and Your Health

Work-related stress - the employees' perspective

Please click here for Frequently Asked Questions

• It is always better to prevent stress from developing in the first place and this can be achieved by having open discussions with your employers, colleagues or worker representatives.

• If you are concerned about your stress level at work, you must bring this to the attention of your employer or manager, as your employer has the legal responsibility to protect your health and safety at work.

• It is worth emphasizing that although stress can be caused or made worse by the workplace environment, individual stress can also be due to events outside of work (bereavement, financial difficulties, etc).

• Ignoring stress and hoping it will go away is not a solution.

• Turning to alcohol, sleeping pills and smoking is also not the answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What should I be looking out for as signs that I am suffering from work-related stress?
  
• Why might I be experiencing work-related stress?
• Why, as an employee, should I be concerned about work-related stress?
• What should I do if I am experiencing work-related stress
• I am an employee in a small firm, so what can my employer do about this problem?
• Where can I get help and advice?
• If I experience stress at work due to lack of training, what should I do?
• My employer is worried about releasing me for training during working hours, what can I do?

What should I be looking out for as signs that I am suffering from work-related stress?

It is the employer's responsibility to ensure that you are not subjected to a level of stress that damages your health. However, everyone has a responsibility to prevent stress from developing. If you have been subjected to stress over a sustained period of time, you may well be experiencing a variety of symptoms such as:

• Tiredness
• Loss of sleep
• Loss of appetite or overeating
• Back pain and headaches
• Loss of concentration
• Feeling of irritation towards your boss and colleagues
• Reduced work output and quality of work
• Anxiety and depression
• Loss of interest in your work and social life.

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Why might I be experiencing work-related stress?

When stress is work-related, the following factors have been found to contribute to stress:
· Work demand - workload, work pattern and the work environment.
· Control - how much say the person has in the way the work is done.
· Support - encouragement of an employee's contribution; training and support for new job responsibilities; and effective line management.
· Relationships - a positive and good working culture that deals with unacceptable behaviour such as bullying or harassment.
· Role - whether employees understand their role within the organisation.
· Change - changing job responsibilities; management reorganisation policies; whether employees are consulted about reorganisation and whether the changes are explained adequately in advance.

Additional work factors might also be considered, such as lack of job security, poor physical working conditions (noise, temperature, etc), low rewards, work-life imbalance, etc.

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Why, as an employee, should I be concerned about work-related stress?

The most important reason for concern is that work-related stress does affect you personally. Statistics show that in   are thought to suffer from a stress-related illness that is caused, or made worse, by their work environment.   

If you are suffering from work-related stress, this will affect your performance and might lead you to being absent from work for a prolonged period. If you take leave of absence because of stress at work, this may affect your colleagues who have to cover your work during that period. If you are an employee of a small company, given the reduced number of resources in small businesses, this will decrease business productivity.

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What should I do if I am experiencing work-related stress?

Learn how to spot the early signs of stress and the factors that contribute to it. Discuss your worries with colleagues, line managers or your worker representatives at an early stage. Inform your line manager that you may need time to get help either from health advisers at work, worker representative or your GP. HSE has developed a simple set of tools  (www.hse.gov.uk/stress) that your employer can use to determine which areas of work are leading to stress amongst the workforce. These guidelines contain ideas and advice on how to change the work environment to reduce the occurrence of work-related stress.

 

I am an employee in a small firm, so what can my employer do about this problem?

You should not feel guilty about reporting that you are suffering from stress at work. Employers should be aware of the help available to support them in their responsibility to their employees. It is the legal responsibility of your employer to carry out an assessment of your working conditions to ensure that your health is not put at risk by work. Larger companies may employ occupational health services and employees should have access to these. If you are in a small company, these services are not usually available, so you should consider talking to your GP, as well as your employer. There are various local occupational health advisory services that can also provide help and advice such as the Sheffield Occupational Health Advisory Services (SOHAS) - www.sohas.co.uk

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Where can I get help and advice?

There are many sources of help and advice freely available to you. You can gain advice and guidance on HSE's website. There are free tools and leaflets available (www.hse.gov.uk/stress/freetools.htm).

Alternatively, you can call the HSE Infoline (tel:0845 345 0055), where free copies of these documents can be obtained.

 

If I experience stress at work due to lack of training what should I do?

If your stress is due to lack of training, you should discuss with your employer whether you need training to acquire new skills and build up your confidence. However, your employer may be concerned about the cost or time required for the training. If this is the case, there are various government agencies that may be able to help direct you to suitable training programmes and sources of financial support.

 

My employer is worried about releasing me for training during work hours, what can I do?

The organisations mentioned below can help you obtain training for a range of skills. Some of these courses are provided at minimal cost through subsidies from the Learning & Skills Council. This training can be completed at a time convenient to you and with minimal impact on your work. This may be via a computer at your place of work, in your home, or at a Business Training Centre (www.learndirect-business.co.uk).