April is stress awareness month – HSE have provided some tools to help you can prevent, reduce and manage stress in the workplace.
What’s the problem?
The rate of work-related stress depression and anxiety has increased in recent years, and the last year has presented new challenges that have never been faced before.
According to the Mental health Foundation, 74% of UK adults say that they have felt so stressed at some point over the last year that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope.
It’s not just the people who feel this way that are impacted, it also has a big effect on business and our economy. Stress, depression or anxiety account for a huge 51% of all work-related ill health cases and 55% of all working days lost due to work-related ill health.
Recognising the signs of stress will help employers to take steps to prevent, reduce and manage stress in the workplace.
What should you do?
| Employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it. The earlier a problem is tackled the less impact it will have.
If you already have a risk assessment in place, consider whether you need to re-assess the situation due to changes and challenges brought about by COVID-19.
Social distancing, working from home and all the other safeguards that have been put in place may have changed or created new stress. Stress affects people differently – what stresses one person may not affect another. Factors like skills and experience, age or disability may all affect whether an employee can cope.
Employees feel stress when they can’t cope with pressures, demands put on them and other issues.
Employers should match demands to employees’ skills and knowledge.
Six key factors to consider
Employers should assess the risks in the following areas to manage stress in the workplace. If not properly managed, they are associated with poor health, lower productivity and increased accident and sickness absence rates.
- demands – workload, work patterns and the work environment
- control – how much say the person has in the way they do their work
- support – encouragement, sponsorship and resources available to workers
- relationships – promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour
- role – whether people understand their role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures that they do not have conflicting roles
- change – how change (large or small) is managed and communicated
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Help and guidance is available
HSE has a range of practical support and guidance available including risk assessment templates, a talking toolkit to help start conversations, workbooks, posters, a new mobile app and a new automated stress indicator tool (SIT).
For more information visit the stress section of HSE’s website.
Workplace experts Acas also have lots of free resources to help employers, managers and staff support mental health.
This includes advice, e-learning and webinars offering advice on ways to effectively manage, provide support and minimise the impacts of negative mental health in your workplace.
HSE Bulletin Service April 2021
How Can Employees Handle Their Stress Levels?
Talk about Stress and it’s effects – lets work together to reduce the stigma that is associated with stress by talking about the topic openly and freely with friends, family and colleagues.
Share your coping mechanisms – if something has worked for you why not share it. It might benefit someone you care about and in the meantime it might help you take your focus off your own challenges.
Be nice to those who are stressed and anxious – we are all undoubtedly going to experience stress and anxiety in our lifetime so treat others going through wit with compassion and empathy.
Look after yourself – we all need to think more about self –care. Take time out of your day to relax or do something that you enjoy. Don’t forget to exercise and eat well, even when you feel too stressed.
The most crucial thing you can do when you are stressed or anxious is to make sure you are continuing to look after yourself. Make time to relax when you need to and learn to say no to requests that are too much for you.
For more information and to Test Your Stress visit the Stress Awareness Website
Grocery Aid is on Hand
GroceryAid can help with emotional, practical and financial support and advice, so if you are feeling the pressure and need someone to talk to , please call 08088 021 122 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Visit Home – GroceryAid for more details.
+ 44 (0) 1400 283090
April 15th, 2021.
+ 44 (0) 1400 283090
