This is intended to be a brief guide to help you understand and support members experiencing poor mental health and wellbeing, including stress, related to their work, using the HSE Management Standards approach.
Understanding Work-Related Stress
Work-related stress occurs when the demands of the job exceed the employee’s ability to cope. It can lead to poor mental health, decreased productivity, and increased absenteeism.
Some Individual Signs of Stress
- Physical: Headaches, fatigue, muscle tension.
- Emotional: Anxiety, depression, irritability.
- Behavioural: Changes in eating habits, withdrawal, poor performance, increased emotional reactions; being tearful, sensitive or aggressive.
Signs of stress in a workplace
- Arguments: Increased frequency of conflicts among employees.
- Higher Staff Turnover: More employees leaving their jobs due to stress.
- More Reports of Stress: Employees reporting higher levels of stress.
- More Sickness Absence: Increased absenteeism due to stress-related health issues.
- Decreased Performance: Lower productivity and quality of work.
- More Complaints and Grievances: Higher number of complaints and grievances indicating dissatisfaction and difficulty coping with work conditions.
HSE Management Standards Approach
The HSE Management Standards provide a framework to help employers manage workrelated stress. They cover six key areas :
- 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 provided by the organisation, line management, and colleagues.
- Relationships: Promoting positive working relationships 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 organisational change (large or small) is managed and communicated.
Steps to Implement the Management Standards
- Prepare the Organisation: Ensure commitment from senior management and communicate the importance of managing stress.
- Identify Risk Factors: Conduct a risk assessment to identify stressors in the workplace.
- Evaluate Risks: Determine who might be harmed, and how, and evaluate the risks.
- Record Findings: Document the risk assessment and the measures taken to mitigate risks.
- Monitor and Review: Regularly review the effectiveness of the measures and make necessary adjustments.
Mental Health at Work
Mental health problems are common, with one in four people in the UK experiencing a mental health issue at some point. Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health problems, often triggered by difficult life events or work-related issues.
What employers should do
- Develop a Mental Health Plan: Implement and communicate a plan that promotes good mental health and outlines available support.
- Raise Awareness: Provide information, tools, and support to increase mental health awareness among employees.
- Encourage Open Conversations: Foster an environment where employees feel comfortable discussing mental health and seeking support.
- Provide Good Working Conditions: Ensure a healthy work-life balance and opportunities for development.
- Effective People Management: Train managers to have regular conversations about health and wellbeing with their team members.
- Monitor Mental Health: Routinely check employee mental health and wellbeing through available data and direct communication.
Legal Responsibilities
Employers have a legal responsibility to help employees with mental health issues, like any other health hazard at work. This includes assessing risks and making reasonable adjustments under equalities legislation.
