The Danton Guide to: Managing Stress in the Workplace
"The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demands placed on them"
As HSE (UK Health and Safety Executive) describes stress
The effects of workplace stress can be far reaching. In addition to impacting the employee in question, affecting their physical and mental health, it can cause long term-absence, create unforeseen costs and have a knock-on effect on the emotional health and stress in the rest of the team.
We’ve created the following guide to provide tips on managing and preventing stress in your workplace.
What is work-related stress?
The HSE (UK Health and Safety Executive) describes workplace stress as:
"The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demands placed on them"
People need a certain amount of pressure to challenge and motivate them to meet targets and perform in their roles. But excessive levels of pressure or facing continued challenges over an extended period can lead to stress, which in turn leads to higher rates of absence, reduced engagement, and a reduction in productivity.
What causes workplace stress?
The causes of workplace stress will vary from person to person, but typically, workplace stress has been linked to employees feeling like they are not getting all their needs met, whether that is physical, financial or emotional. Some common causes of workplace related stress can include:
Increase in work-related demands
Prolonged bouts of high pressure
Lack of resource
Management style
Lack of communication
Poor work-life-balance
Volume of work
Co-worker disputes
Covid related anxieties
Personal or family-related issues
How common is work-related stress?
The HSE reports that workplace stress is costing the economy £5.2 billion every year with approximately 17.9 million working days lost every year to stress, anxiety or depression.
Mind found that 1 in 5 of us take time off with stress every year, but that 90% of us wouldn’t claim “stress” as the reason for the absence.
In addition to this, 24% of line managers don’t believe that employee wellbeing is their responsibility and 45% of employees say that their workplace doesn’t have the procedures in place to help with stress (HSE).
Do employers have a legal obligation to tackle work-related stress?
Under UK health and safety law, employers have a duty of care to their people. A number of laws could be referred to when reviewing cases of work-related stress. Ultimately an employer must do everything they can to support their employees’ health, safety and wellbeing at work, including carrying out risk assessments and acting on them.
It has been shown that in organisations where they have measures in place to proactively support their people and manage work-related stress, the business has benefitted from increased productivity, performance and reduced sickness-absence.
What are the signs of work-related stress?
Everyone handles pressure differently, so it may be difficult to spot cases of work-related stress initially. Some indications that an individual may be suffering are likely to be linked to changes in their behaviour or performance, including:
Increased absence
Loss of interest
Reduction in performance
Reduced communication
Poor time-keeping
Irritability and changes in mood
Physical illness (e.g. headaches, nausea)
We recommend checking in with your people regularly and asking them how they are doing. If you have regular or monthly one-to-ones with your employees, this can be a great place to start.
How to alleviate work-related stress?
Once you have identified a case of work-related stress, or believe that your organisation could be at risk, you can put steps and procedures in place to alleviate and prevent cases, including:
Conduct regular risk assessments
Develop a wellbeing policy
Offer an employee assistance programme (EAP)
Create a break-out space
Lead by example
Improve internal communication
Organise team building events
How Danton can help
Danton help business owners put steps in place to prevent work-related stress and manage cases should they arise. We offer a free 30 minute, no obligation call to anyone wanting to talk through their situation and plans. Call now: 01527 306 760