The HSE and Workplace Stress
Is your organisation managing stress professionally?
By Jeff Colligan
Workplace stress is now an issue that all of us have heard of and probably know something about. Unfortunately, while many employers have accepted that stress is a major problem in their workplace, few have any idea how to tackle it effectively.
There is now clear guidance available from the HSE, which will help organisations identify practical solutions to the problem. Part of the guidance is the production of a set of management standards. This is an effective tool to assist organisations to identify the causes of workplace stress and implement practical solutions to manage the risks. They are now the main standard in use in the UK.
The HSE’s Aim
To reduce the number of working days lost through stress, from 13m days to some 4m days by 2010.
The HSE’s Position on stress:
- It has produced a stress definition
- Has produced a set of Management Standards
- Developed a 5 Step Risk Assessment Process
- Highlighted 6 categories of possible stressors
- Identified 18 Beacons of Excellence
The HSE takes action
After being notified of a long hours culture, bullying and undue pressure, the HSE took the following action with an NHS Trust (August 03)
- Improvement Notice issued (precedent)
- Discovered evidence of bullying and long hours
- No procedure for assessing the risk was found
- Response/Actions required from the senior directors (March 04)
- Fines/imprisonment were possible
- More Improvement Notices may follow
The Health and Safety Executive Management Standards for Work-related stress
The Standards aim to simplify the risk assessment process and at the same time provide a yardstick by which organisations can gauge their performance in tackling the key causes of stress. The standards classify the principle causes of work-related stress into six key areas:
1. Demands - Includes issues like workload, work patterns, and the work environment
2. Control - How much say the person has in the way they do their work
3. Support - Includes the encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues
4. Relationships - Includes promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour.
5. Role - Whether people understand their role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures that the person does not have conflicting roles
6. Change - How organisational change (large or small) is managed and communicated in the organisation
JPD offer a wide range of Management training, including how to manage stress effectively. To find out how our Management Expert Jeff Colligan and JPD can improve your management skills visit our website http://www.jpd.co.uk/courses/mgtskills.htm
or contact our friendly advisors on 01565 724200.