What is work-related stress?

Posted 8 months ago

Work-related stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or demands placed on them at work.

There’s a clear distinction between pressure and stress. Pressure can be a motivating factor and enables staff to productively get their job done. However, stress can occur when these pressures become too much for the individual to handle.

Why should employers be concerned about Stress?

Staff absences and loss of productivity because of work-related stress can have a financial impact on the business. Did you know that 17.1 million working days are lost each year in the UK because of work-related stress?! In certain sectors, stress is more prevalent. In fact, a third of construction workers suffer with elevated levels of anxiety every day!

Stress also has an adverse reaction on staff performance, reliability, and retention. This can lead to a higher staff turnover, and therefore increased recruitment and training costs.

In some circumstances, your businesses’ insurance premiums may also increase and there may, in severe cases, be issues of litigation by those individuals who experience stress.

Stress and the Law

Employers have a legal and moral duty to ensure that their workers are not injured or made unwell because of work activities, and this includes mental illness.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulation 1999 ensures employers have a responsibility to assess the risk of work-related stress or ill health arising from their work activities, and under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to take measures to control those risks.

Is Stress reportable under RIDDOR?

No, purely because the causes of stress-related illness are usually extremely complex and specific to each circumstance. Issues of stress-related illness can be raised with the enforcing authorities (the HSE) and could result in an investigation.

What steps should employers take to stop pressure from turning into stress?

Businesses should look to identify the key areas that can lead to stress, then compile an action plan and implement steps to prevent stress from occurring. Here are some of the key areas to consider:

Demands – Are you asking too much from your staff, do they feel that they can say ‘No’ when asked to do something if they feel unable to cope with the existing workload?
Control – How much input do your staff have on the way they carry out duties, being asked to work a way that doesn’t suit can put undue pressure on individuals.
Support – Do your staff feel that they can discuss concerns with you, do they get the support and encouragement that they need?
Relationships – Are you made aware when working relationships fray or if workplace bullying occurs? Can your staff freely discuss this with you?
Role – Do your staff understand what is expected of them, particularly when job roles change or new demands are placed on them?
Change – Organisational change has an impact on all staff be it changes in duties, procedures, or workload. Are staff informed of proposed changes and what they mean to them, are they well prepared for it?

There are also a number of things employees can do to help their employers to help them!

You can familiarise yourself with the risk factors and risk assessment so you can contribute to discussions or plans and help to develop procedures.

Additionally, you can help your employer by giving honest and accurate information via questionnaires or discussion groups when asked. Your employers will need this information to be as accurate as possible if they are to take effective action.

Finally, make sure you understand all the decisions made and the procedures that you need to follow should you feel there’s a problem developing.

What can employees do to help reduce stress in the workplace?

Staff should familiarise themselves with stress risk assessments so they can contribute to discussions or plans and help to develop procedures.

Additionally, they can help their employer by giving honest and accurate information via questionnaires or discussion groups when asked. Employers will need this information to be as accurate as possible if they are to take effective action.

Finally, they must make sure that they understand all the decisions made and the procedures that they need to follow if they feel there’s a problem developing.

Stress Awareness Training

Stress can be detrimental to a person’s mental health and it’s imperative for employers to understand work-related stress and be aware of the differences between applying pressure or causing stress. With this in mind, businesses must take their employee’s mental wellbeing seriously.

Here at iHasco, we offer a range of Mental Wellbeing Training courses, including an IOSH Approved Stress Awareness Training course that helps employees identify stress, and reduce & prevent stress with positive steps.

The course is suitable for both employees and employers and touches upon how to prevent stress, how to recognise problems, and how to stop pressure from getting out of control.

Why not get started with a free, no-obligation trial today? Alternatively, request a bespoke quote and a member of our team will be in touch to discuss your training requirements.