Stress at Work
Helen Crooks, is a HR Consultant at PES, a fast-growing specialist employment Consultancy in Bristol.
She said: "It is common nowadays for organisations to have policies for stress or employee well-being in place in addition to Employee Assistance Programmes, and to have provided training to managers/HR/Occupational Health as to how to recognise stress and approach how to handle the situation in the workplace.
"As well as being a compassionate measure, there is also a sound business case for introducing procedures to reduce stress related absence and improve employee morale, performance, and retention in the workplace. Although there is no specific legislation covering stress, employers have a duty of care towards their employees under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and depending on the employee's symptoms, under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
"When an employee raises a stress related issue the manager should refer the employee to the stress procedure and encourage them to talk to the appropriate person outlined, as well as alerting the manager to the complaint and asking them to investigate and act upon their findings. Whoever investigates the matter should listen to the employee's complaint and investigate, considering as appropriate:
- the employees workload and working hours
- their training
- their relationships with their colleagues and managers
- their work environment
- their particular work situation at present
"The workplace might not be the sole or originating factor, so an employee's personal circumstances and situation might be the cause or a contributing factor. If it is a work related factor that is contributing, act upon the findings and look at what alterations, temporary changes or support can be provided to alleviate the situation. Self help techniques could also be recommended to the employee if appropriate: e.g. regular exercise and eating healthily. If it is a non-work related factor that is the cause, support may still be offered. The involvement of Occupational Health should also be considered. Throughout the investigation continuous communication to the employee is important.
"It is not necessarily easy to spot symptoms of stress, it helps if you know the individuals well so that you are able to notice if their appearance or behaviour changes, for example if an employee withdraws from socialising, is more easily upset/excited, or looses or gains weight."
