Back to Basics: Workplace Stress Risk Management

Our working lives can have a significant impact on our psychological well-being and the current pandemic has shone a spotlight on just how great that impact can be.  Employers have the legal obligation to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees under the Health and Safety at Work Act, this extends to cover mental wellbeing.

There are many factors that can contribute to workplace stress levels, with most people often experiencing stress from multiple sources. The HSE has identified the six following risk “categories” as the main drivers towards stress in the workplace:

• Demands – this includes issues such as workload, work patterns and the work environment
• Control – how much say the person has in the way they do their work
• Support – this includes the encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues
• Relationships – this includes promoting positive working 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 in the organisation

Whilst most stresses can fit into one of these categories, it is not an exhaustive list, and doesn’t consider external factors that will also directly impact an employee’s performance in the workplace.

How to identify workplace stress in employees

Unlike physical injuries, mental illnesses aren’t always easy to spot, with many people actively trying to hide their issues. With that said, there are some common signs of stress these include an employee:

• taking more time off
• arriving for work later
• being more twitchy or nervous
• having mood swings
• being withdrawn
• experiencing a loss of motivation, commitment and confidence
• having increased emotional reactions – being more tearful, sensitive or aggressive
• eating more or less than usual

Managers should look out for signs of stress in teams and workers, some of which are listed above, and think about whether the stress could be linked to their working environment.

Acting early can reduce the impact of pressure and make it easier to reduce or remove the causes. If managers are worried that a worker is showing some of these signs, they should encourage them to see their GP. These signs can be symptoms of other conditions. If there is something wrong at work, and this has caused the problem, managers should take action.

How to mitigate workplace stress and improve employee wellbeing

Employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it. The HSE Stress Management toolkit recommends implementing a risk assessment process to help manage the stress levels of a workforce. Risk assessments should follow the steps below:

1. Identify the hazards
2. Decide who might be harmed and how
3. Evaluate the risks and decide on the precautions
4. Record your findings and implement them
5. Review your assessment if necessary

Whilst completely eliminating workplace stress is not realistic, there are some practical steps that can be taken to help reduce certain pressures that individuals are faced with. Due to the varying nature of stress and its causes, there is no “silver bullet” to eradicate stress from your workplace. Employees will all be facing different challenges and react to stress in their own way, meaning a “one size fits all” approach won’t work.

A great starting point is to create a safe space for employees to talk about their problems. For many, admitting there is a problem can be the hardest step to take. Training line managers to be more approachable and understanding can be invaluable to help build confidence within teams.

As for the next step, that would depend greatly on the individual problem, analysing the cause of the stress and working to find a realistic solution.