Stress Awareness & Safety
April is Stress Awareness Month, a perfect time to consider the impact that stress management has on safety.
Recent data from the UK shows that in 2021/22 there were close to 1 million reported cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety. This accounts for 17 million days of lost work time with the annual cost of this factor to the UK economy close to £5.2 billion.
Financial implications are an important consideration, but to effectively manage work related stress we must analyze it in more depth and exercise emotional intelligence when assessing the risks.
After all we are all human beings; individuals going through different circumstances and dealing with stress in our lives apart from that related to the workplace. Of course the employer and safety professionals are limited to what extent we can assist in a personal capacity, it is still possible to vastly improve the stress of employees at work through keeping this in mind.
So how do we manage work related stress? A recent guide published by the British Safety Council called “Being well Together” identifies the following factors as the main causes of work related stress:
Demands of employees such as workload, work patterns and the work environment
Control people have over their workload
Support provided by the company and fellow staff, the ability to communicate stress without victimization.
Relationships such as work culture, inappropriate behavior from co workers, favoritism, victimization etc.
Roles and tasks that employees do not have a clear understanding of, how roles influence one another
Change not being effectively communicated to employees causing feelings of insecurity
Once we have identified the stress related risk factors in the workplace we can start to take action. Safety management recommendations from BSC include:
“✓ Implement a stress and mental health policy which states your position and demonstrates that you consider this an important issue. Ensure that it gives clear guidelines on roles and responsibilities, and the support on offer
✓ Consult employees on their workload, and their preferred way of working, to enable them to have some autonomy and control
✓ Consider implementing a risk audit on work-related stress across the business, this can highlight root causes and help identify appropriate action
✓ Consult with employees on potential risks and solutions
✓ Ensure that you have the right support in place for your workforce
✓ Train managers to spot the signs and symptoms of stress and manage it appropriately and supportively. They also need to recognise situations that are likely to cause stress
✓ Monitor and record any conversations and agreed actions for an audit trail and to measure progress and outcomes
✓ Implement good sickness absence management processes, reasonable adjustments, and return to work interviews that identify any underlying cause or risk of stress and addresses them
✓ Consider using Wellness Action Plans to facilitate discussion and decide next steps, agree any adjustments to work or the workplace, and the support the individual needs
✓ Consult employees on organisational change and communicate regularly to avoid uncertainty
✓ Encourage self-help and resilience too, implement a workplace wellbeing programme
✓ Encourage activity – studies have shown how being active and outside in the natural environment can produce endorphins that minimise stress and lift mood
✓ Encourage regular breaks away from the workstation. “
(Source: British Safety Council: Being Well Together Published April 2023)
Consistent monitoring of stress related data such as risk assessments, staff reports and history is important to analyze the effectiveness of action taken and any patterns of concern that may arise. It is equally important to communicate with staff regularly and ensure a system is in place whereby staff can easily and formally submit their concerns and that action and feedback is provided.
Safety is a team effort, together we can look out for each other and guarantee a workplace that is of the standard we all deserve.
