Stress Awareness in the Workplace Training Course

Employers have a responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees, which includes managing the risks associated with work-related stress.

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers must assess risks to employees and take reasonably practicable steps to prevent or control harm, including risks arising from workplace stress.

Managing workplace stress may involve:

• Identifying potential causes of stress within the workplace.
• Assessing the risk of stress-related ill health arising from work activities.
• Taking appropriate action to control risks that are identified.
• Reviewing workloads, working arrangements and employee responsibilities where concerns arise.
• Providing employees with appropriate information, resources and support.
• Communicating effectively with employees, particularly during periods of organisational change.
• Addressing workplace issues such as bullying, conflict or poor working relationships.
• Encouraging employees to raise concerns about work-related stress.

Employers should take a preventative approach rather than waiting until an employee becomes unwell. This means considering how work is organised and managed, listening to employees and taking appropriate action when potential stress risks are identified.

The HSE Management Standards can also help employers identify and manage common causes of workplace stress across six key areas: Demands, Control, Support, Relationships, Role and Change.

Yes. Employers have a legal duty to assess the risk of stress-related ill health arising from work activities and take appropriate action to control identified risks.

A workplace stress risk assessment should consider the aspects of work that could contribute to excessive pressure or work-related stress. This may include workloads, deadlines, working patterns, levels of control, management support, workplace relationships, employees' roles and how organisational change is managed.

The risk assessment process can involve:

• Identifying potential sources of work-related stress.
• Consulting employees about pressures or concerns they experience at work.
• Considering which employees or groups of employees may be affected.
• Evaluating existing measures used to manage workplace stress.
• Identifying additional actions needed to reduce or control risks.
• Recording findings where required and implementing agreed actions.
• Reviewing the assessment and checking whether the measures introduced are effective.

A stress risk assessment should focus on preventing and managing the causes of work-related stress rather than attempting to diagnose whether individual employees are experiencing a medical condition.

The HSE Management Standards provide employers with a framework that can be used to help identify and manage work-related stress risks within an organisation.

The HSE Management Standards provide a framework to help employers identify and manage the main workplace factors that can contribute to work-related stress.

The Standards focus on six key areas of work design:

• Demands – including workload, working patterns and the working environment.

• Control – how much influence employees have over the way they carry out their work.

• Support – the encouragement, resources and support available from the organisation, managers and colleagues.

• Relationships – promoting positive working relationships, preventing conflict and addressing unacceptable behaviour.

• Role – ensuring employees understand their responsibilities and that conflicting roles are avoided.

• Change – how organisational changes are managed and communicated to employees.

Rather than focusing only on individual employees who may be experiencing stress, the Management Standards help organisations examine how work is designed and managed and identify areas where improvements may be needed.

Employers can use the Management Standards as part of their approach to assessing work-related stress risks, consulting employees, identifying potential problems and developing actions to control or reduce those risks.

The Standards provide desirable conditions for organisations to work towards and can support a preventative approach to managing workplace stress.

Managers can play an important role in identifying and addressing potential workplace stress because they are often well placed to notice changes in an employee's behaviour, performance or working patterns.

Being able to recognise potential signs of stress can help managers:

• Identify concerns before they become more difficult to manage.
• Start supportive conversations with employees who may be struggling.
• Understand whether workload, deadlines or other aspects of work could be contributing to excessive pressure.
• Consider whether additional support or reasonable changes to working arrangements may help.
• Encourage employees to raise concerns rather than allowing problems to continue unnoticed.
• Identify recurring issues that could indicate a wider problem within a team or workplace.

Managers should not attempt to diagnose stress or make assumptions about an employee's health. Instead, they should listen to concerns, consider factors within the workplace that may be contributing to the problem and follow their organisation's procedures for providing appropriate support.

Early recognition can also help organisations move from reacting to stress-related problems after they occur towards identifying and managing workplace pressures before they have a greater impact on employees and the organisation.