Your Work and Your Health

Work-related stress - the employers' perspective

Please click here for Frequently Asked Questions

Work-related stress is a serious problem for businesses. Employers are, therefore, encouraged to focus on prevention, rather than after stress occurs.

It is a legal requirement, as stated under the Health and Safety Work etc Act 1974, to assess risk of work-related stress. As an employer you have a general duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health of your employees at work (The Health and Safety Work etc Act 1974).

In addition, Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires you, as an employer, to assess risks to health and safety from the hazards at work. This includes the risk of employees developing stress-related illness because of their work.

To help prevent or reduce stress at work, HSE advises employers to implement the Management Standards approach. This is a pragmatic approach, which has been developed, following a wide consultation exercise with experts, academics and practitioners from businesses, professional bodies and trade unions. The HSE Management Standards approach includes the traditional five steps of a risk assessment method:

• Step 1: Identify the stress risk factors: Understand the Management Standards.
• Step 2: Decide who might be harmed and how: Gather data.
• Step 3: Evaluate the risks: Explore problems and develop solutions.
• Step 4: Record your findings: Develop and implement action plans
• Step 5: Monitor and review: Monitor and review action plans and assess effectiveness.

Before Step 1 can commence, the initial step is to prepare the organisation by setting up a stress steering group, comprising senior and line management, HR, union representatives, occupational health professionals, health and safety representatives, etc. who will coordinate the whole initiative.

In addition, managers are invited to assess whether their behaviours and competencies effectively prevent and reduce stress in their employees. In order to this, there is a stress management competency indicator tool freely available for managers on the HSE website (www.hse.gov.uk/stress/mcit.htm). This tool will assist managers in identifying strengths and development needs of their particular management style.

Some examples of stress management competencies for line managers are:

Frequently Asked Questions

• What causes stress in the workplace?
• What should I do to ensure that stress does not occur in the first place?
• What is the risk of work-related stress amongst my employees?
• If stress is reported, how do I determine that it is work-related?
• Why can this problem not be ignored?
• What factors contribute to work-related stress amongst employees?
• Who should be consulted when someone is experiencing stress and stress-related illness?
• What can I do to manage this problem?
• As a small business employer, what can I do to avoid this problem?
• Where can I get help and advice?
  

What causes stress in the workplace?

Stress is the adverse reaction that people have to excessive pressure at work, to include when their employer places unreasonable demands on them. Extra pressure can encourage some people to work more effectively once in a while (i.e., the 'buzz' factor). However, when this pressure exceeds the individual's ability to cope with the demand, this can give rise to the feeling of being stressed. In the long term, such stress can lead to physical and mental ill health. Stress has consistently been found to be caused by six main factors: Job demands; Control over work; Support from managers and colleagues; Relationships at work; Job Role and Organisational Change.

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What should I do to ensure that stress does not occur in the first place?

The key elements in stress management are to take preventive actions by conducting regular risk assessments for work-related stress. Management systems, policies and interventions can then be put into place to reduce the risk of a stressful working environment. If you have little experience of implementing such schemes then HSE has developed guidance to help you assess and identify key issues that may contribute to stress amongst your employees ("HSG 218 guidance - revised). You can also find plenty of advice on the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/stress. Alternatively you can call the HSE Infoline, tel: 0845 345 0055.

Employers have a responsibility under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act (1974) and under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999) to carry out regular risk assessments to protect both the physical and mental health of their employees.

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What is the risk of work-related stress amongst my employees?

Work-related stress is one of the largest causes of ill health in the workplace in the UK. In 2007/08 an estimated 13.5 million working days were lost in Britain due to work-related stress, depression and anxiety. When stress, anxiety or depression leads to absence from work, the average length of sick leave per case is 30.6 days. In 2008,17.1% of British workers believed their jobs were extremely or very stressful.

Carrying out regular risk assessments is a way to monitor stress risks factors as explained above.   Full details can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/stress or HSE guidance leaflets.

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If stress is reported, how do I determine that it is work-related?

Changes in the behaviour of an employee may indicate that they are experiencing stress. For example, uncharacteristic mood swings, failure to communicate, evidence of continuous fatigue and tiredness, loss of concentration, reduced work output and quality, social isolation and a loss of interest in their work. A high level of sickness absence may also be a sign of work-related stress. However, stress may not be totally related to work but to issues outside work as well.

Establishing trust and a dialogue with the individual concerned, is essential to find out the reasons for the observed stress symptoms.  Line managers, an occupational health doctor, nurse or psychologist, or a trained worker representative could discuss the issue with the employee. It is important that symptoms are taken seriously and examined by qualified and trained individuals.

Managers should continuously assess those factors that contribute to stress in the workplace and issue an action plan, which is discussed and agreed with the representatives of the workforce. Such a plan would address, for example, how employers and employees, together, can change the work environment to reduce stressful work conditions. On the HSE website, a number of case studies (www.hse.gov.uk/stress/casestudies.htm) are presented, which suggest various ways of reducing the risk of stress in the workplace. Although these case studies relate to large organisations, there are stress initiatives that can apply to SME environments as well. In addition Work Positive is a good source of SME case studies  implemented in Scotland and Ireland. http://www.healthscotland.org.uk/workpositive/case_atlas.cfm

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Why can this problem not be ignored?

It is a legal requirement for employers to undertake a risk assessment to protect workers' physical and mental health.

The loss of working days may be the most visible cost of work-related stress, but there is the additional burden of a high turnover of staff, and the loss of trained individuals. There is also the 'knock-on' effect of the extra demands placed upon other staff, who have to cover for absent colleagues. For the company this may result in reduced productivity and quality of their services and possibly loss of income from settling claims against the company.

 

What factors contribute to work-related stress amongst employees?

The most obvious factors could be the working environment, workload, job insecurity and poor communication between colleagues or between employees and management. This could result in poor teamwork. In addition, new work conditions, unrealistic goals or loss of control and failure to complete tasks, can be stressful for many employees. A poor work-life balance can also affect family life, as well as productivity in the workplace.

 

Who should be consulted when someone is experiencing stress and stress-related illness?

If it is due to pressure at work, the manager and the individual (suffering from stress) should have an initial discussion to try and solve the problem. If either party requires help or advice, then a TU/employee representative, or a health professional should be contacted.

However, if excessive pressure has led to ill health or absence from work, the individual's GP, psychiatrist or other health professional should be involved.

HSE’s guidance is to:

• understand the situation, including causes and possible solutions;
• provide support to the individual;
• develop a plan to tackle the causes of stress, that is acceptable to all, particularly to the individual and their line manager; and
• assess whether anyone else is experiencing problems and if a broader organisational intervention is required.

 

What can I do to manage this problem?

The first line of action should be to try and deal with the situation within the workplace and carry out a risk assessment. Information on conducting risk assessments can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/stress.

The key is to identify the factors in the work environment that are contributing to the problem, with the aim of providing solutions that are beneficial to the whole team and not just limited to an individual.

 

As a small business employer, what can I do to avoid this problem?

All employers are required to assess the risks to the health of their employees. The HSE guidance not only helps you to minimise the risk of stress, but also promotes better team-working and retention of staff. Your local business advisors and small business clubs may be able to help you identify additional funding and training opportunities for you or your staff.

Further details of this support can be obtained from:

Business Link: Provide free business advice and support service, available on line and through local advisers www.businesslink.gov.uk

Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL): Provide consultancy and training courses on work-related stress and managing absence http://www.hsl.gov.uk/training/index.htm

Learn Direct:  Provide e-learning training courses www.learndirect-business.co.uk. 

Learning & Skills Council: Provide advice on funding and training courses providers http://www.lsc.gov.uk

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Where can I get help and advice?

You should consider whether you, or one of your staff, need training for monitoring stress in the workplace. If there are concerns about whether your business can afford this, there are various government agencies that may be able to help. For example, your local business centre (www.businesslink.gov.uk) can tell you about possible funding from Europe or from the UK Learning & Skills Council (www.Isc.gov.uk). These funds can cover up to half the costs for training, and in some cases provide a full subsidy.

Other sources of advice are on HSE's website (www.hse.gov.uk/stress)
and HSE's Infoline on 0845 345 0055.

In addition, you may find the following resources useful for gaining information about tackling stress and mental health at work:

Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL): http://www.hsl.gov.uk

Mental Health Foundation: http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk

Mind: http://www.mind.org.uk/

Shift:  (Department of Health’s initiative) http://www.shift.org.uk/employers/lmr/
Line Managers’ Resource: A practical guide to managing and supporting people with mental health problems in the workplace.