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Workplace Stress
Management
Do not be afraid…...
Rachel E. Mulholland
Chartered Occupational Psychologist
Institute of Occupational Medicine,
Research Park North, Riccarton
Edinburgh
Opening the Can…..
• Why ?
• Is stress not just mental backache ?
• Challenges
• Putting your best foot forward
Prevalence of ill-health
Self-reported Work-related Illness
(SWI 03/04)
Disease
Prevalence
Musculoskeletal Disorders
1 108 000
Stress, Depression & Anxiety
557 000 *
Breathing & Lung Problems
183 000
Hearing Problems
81 000
Why are we bothered?
• Legislative requirements
• 12.8 million lost work days due to stress in
2003/04
• £7 billion cost to society
• Average of 28.5 days off per year
Sources: (SWI03/04) & TUC
Stress and Health at Work (Smith et al, 2000)
•
20% of workers ‘very’ or ‘extremely stressed’
(approx. 5 million)
•
Prevalence 10 times higher than previous estimate
•
Associated with:
frequent minor physical symptoms
mental ill-health and
undesirable behaviours
•
•
•
Whitehall II Study (Stansfield et al)
•
works stress doubles the risk of future psychiatric
morbidity
•
high job demands, low social support, low
decision authority and effort-reward imbalance
associated with increased risk of psychiatric
disorders
•
common stressors identified:
high workloads; long hours; working fast; lack of
support; insufficient information; low decision
authority; high job demands
Employer Views (IOM, 2001)
• 87% viewed stress as a cause of work-related ill-health
• Emergency Services (65%) & Local Government (55%) most likely to report work-related stress problems
• Increased awareness of Stress but BARRIERS to tackling
issue often attitudes and uncertainty
Key points from Case Law
Walker V Northumberland
£175,000
‘…his illness was attributed to the impact
on his personality at work’
Key points of Law:
Foreseeability and Causation
Stress - ‘main psychosocial work hazard’
‘… the adverse reaction that
people have to excessive
pressures or other types of
demand placed upon them, it
arises when they feel they
cannot cope’
HSE Definition
Clarity out of Confusion
•
Stress is not a disease but it can impact upon
health via physiological and behavioural
pathways when prolonged and excessive
•
It can be caused by work and non-work factors
•
Individual differences play a part too!
HSE Management Standards
•
Demands – being able to cope with the demands of
the job
•
Control – having an adequate say over how work is
done
•
Support – having adequate support from colleagues
and superiors
•
Relationships – not being subjected to
unacceptable behaviours
•
Role – understanding roles and responsibilities
•
Change – being involved and informed in
organisational changes
Challenges for the Fire Service
• Significant changes taking place:
• Integrated Risk Management Planning (IRMP)
• Integrated Personal Development System (IPDS)
• Increasing risk of violence to fire-fighters
• What are the impacts of such changes?
• How and who is involved in decision-making?
Challenging Questions to Ask
• How does our structure support our aims?
• What is our culture?
• How well are we performing?
• Have we any indications of problems?
• How do we recruit and develop staff?
• What support structures are in place?
• Do we play lip service to stress?
The effects of stress on the individual (I)
Health symptoms
Psychological symptoms
- gastro-intestinal problems
- dissatisfaction
- allergies
- anxiety
- skin diseases
- depression
- diabetes
- burnout
- hypertension & heart disease
- nervous/mental breakdown
- lots of persistent minor illnesses
- increased irritability
- disturbed sleep
- poor concentration
- decreased self-esteem
The effects of stress on the individual (II)
Behavioural symptoms
- negative health behaviours
- excessive drinking, increased drug use
- poor diet
- irritability
- reckless driving
- suicide
Effects on Organisation
High absenteeism
High staff turnover
Low morale/poorer performance
Poor working relationships
High number of early retirements
Decreased productivity/quality
Increased disputes
Critical to Risk Assess
- gather & analyse data
Primary prevention:
• address the causes of stress at source e.g. audit, provide
resources, reduce sources of stress
• be proactive
Secondary prevention:
• management awareness and training and
health promotion activities
• good rehabilitation and work integration strategies
Tertiary prevention:
• helping people cope better with symptoms
• provision of counselling services/EAPs, etc
Carry out a Stress Risk Assessment
What are the
main stressors in
my work area?
Step 1
Were my actions
appropriate? How
might I revise them
for the future?
Step 5
What action
can I take to help
prevent it?
Step 4
Are any of my team
vulnerable and
if so in what way?
Step 2
What are the risks?
•Likelihood
•Severity
•Frequency
Step 3
Putting your best foot forward
• Reward and recognise staff
• Promote positive management &
communications
• Increase flexible working
• Increase team working
• Conduct job studies to understand
better how jobs could be done
• Develop appropriate Policies and
Procedures
Critical Success Factors
• Senior Management Commitment
• Being proactive
• Open & honest communications
• Positive & Supportive Culture - (trust, participation)*
• Appropriate selection, training & development
• Consistency and fairness of treatment
• Proper management of change
• ACCEPT STRESS AS A HEALTH & SAFETY ISSUE
Thank you for listening