Well-designed, organised and managed work helps to maintain and promote individual health and well-being. But where there has been insufficient attention to job design, work organisation and management, the benefits and assets associated with ‘good work’ could be lost. One common result is work-related stress.
By the term work-related stress, we mean the process that arises where work demands of various types and combinations exceed the person’s capacity and capability to cope. Think of this as ‘bad work’. It is a significant cause of illness and disease and is known to be linked with high levels of sickness absence, staff turnover and other indicators of organisational underperformance – including human error.
Reduce the risk
For some the way to deal with work-related stress is to diagnose, treat and rehabilitate people who experience it. For others, it is economically and morally preferable to assess and repair the failed work system or organisation. This type of action reduces the risk of future failure and the likelihood of future work-related ill-health. This approach focuses attention on the antecedents of work-related stress in the design and management of work – but recognises that interventions at the individual level have a part to play.
Recent statistics confirm that work related stress is widespread in the UK’s working population and is not confined to particular sectors, high risk jobs or industries. That is why a population-wide approach is necessary to tackle it.
‘According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2011/12 428,000 people in the UK reported work-related stress at a level they believed was making them ill’. (Source: NHS Choices website)
Vital role
Line managers play a vital role in the identification and management of stress within the organisation. They are likely to see the problems causing the stress first hand, will be in the best position to notice changes in staff behaviour that may indicate a stress-related problem and will often be the first point of contact when an individual feels stressed.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have published a set of management competencies, the aim of which is to further encourage managers to adopt behaviours to reduce stress at work.
Full details of the management competencies can be found on both the HSE and CIPD websites.
For further information on where to go for help click on the web links below.
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