Health & Safety Executive Response to Stress
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IN THIS ISSUE |
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WELCOME |
Perhaps it’s a sign of the times. It is only two or three months since we wrote about the problem of stress in the workplace and here we are considering it again. It is certainly a reflection of concerns that are being presented to us at EDP as more and more of our clients are realising that stress is an issue that they can no longer afford to ignore.
Part of the problem is the level of uncertainty surrounding the nature of stress, its effects and what should be done about it. It is this precise aspect that the health and safety executive is seeking to address and they are adopting a particularly pragmatic approach that will help employers to devise practical solutions that should yield real benefits.
Anyway, please read on to get the full story.
David Skews, (CEO)
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HEALTH & SAFETY EXECUTIVE RESPONSE TO STRESS |
The Health and Safety Executive, in conjunction with Personnel Today, recently conducted some research into the impact of stress on UK business. The research highlighted some interesting points, for example: there is a predominant view that stress is actually hindering the efforts of UK companies to close the productivity gap with comparable companies in Europe and beyond.
Furthermore, according to this research, the view of most organisations is that the main causes of stress are associated with quite basic failures in management such as inadequate job definitions, insufficient training, poor workplace relationships and, of course, the old perennial one of making unreasonable demands of staff.
Is it Stress or what?
Not everyone accepts the concept of stress in the workplace but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take the matter seriously. To quote from the HSE’s website, “Some academics have argued that stress is an almost meaningless term and does not exist. However, a convincing body of research shows that whatever you choose to call it, there is a clear link between poor work organisation and subsequent ill health”.
The net result is that whatever name you prefer, that which is commonly referred to as stress is now a major issue resulting in millions of lost days to UK businesses.
The actual number of lost days is a rather elusive figure. Estimates vary widely from one or two million up to more than ten million days a year. Since surveys conducted in different years tend to follow different methodologies, it is even difficult to compare results. However, the evidence seems quite unequivocal that the situation is getting worse. Some suggestions indicate a doubling of the problem over the period from 1990 to 1999. Of course some of this increase may be attributed to a greater awareness of the problem over time, though there is no firm basis for even this assumption.
Whichever figures you take, it is clearly a cause for concern, but nor merely for wringing our hands and bemoaning a worsening situation. Every case is indicative of a failure in health and safety management and ultimately that can lead to a confrontation with the law.
The HSE Responds
The Health and Safety Executive is very concerned about this worsening situation and is busy preparing its Management Standards for Work Related Stress - due for publication in late 2004/early 2005. The aim of these Management Standards is twofold. Firstly, to provide guidance to managers on how to tackle work related stress and secondly, to provide a mechanism for measuring progress.
This approach to providing guidance is in contrast to producing yet more rules. In other words, the approach relies on managers already being convinced that there is a problem that needs to be addressed and that there are real benefits to be gained from doing so. However, not being rule based means that managers cannot rely on any defence along the lines of “I’ve done everything I’ve been told to do”. What counts is results rather than what we do to achieve them and the HSE aims to provide tried and tested guidance on how to go about it.
Obviously, at this early stage it isn’t possible to state exactly what the guidance will include, but the HSE has published an early draft on their HSE website. However, the draft comes with a disclaimer stating “The content of the Pilot Project on Stress Management Standards website is developmental and does not represent a fully validated methodology or finalised process”. Nevertheless, it is worth considering how the guidance has developed so far and any lessons that might be useful in finding solution for particularly pressing needs.
Major Stress Factors
The draft document currently addresses a number of key factors that are believed to contribute to levels of stress in the workplace. These are:
- Role – concerned with an employee’s clear understanding of their role and responsibilities
- Control – concerned with an employee’s opportunity to influence the way in which they do their work
- Demands – concerned with an employee’s ability to cope with the demands of the job
- Support – concerned with the level of information and support an employee receives from colleagues and managers
- Relationship – concerned with an employee’s exposure to unacceptable behaviour such as bullying
As previously mentioned, the performance of an organisation against these factors is, to a large extent, a matter of good management. Consequently early indications are that a key factor is to educate managers in regard to what stress is all about and training them in how to manage it.
See Concepts for a broader perspective on Managing Health & Safety
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David Skews, (CEO)
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EDP Health Safety & Environment Consultants Ltd
Lakeside, Alexandra Park, Prescot Road, St. Helens, Merseyside, UK
Telephone: +44(0)1744 766000
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