Combating Stress

The Health and Safety Executive report that:

In 2007/8, a total of 13.5 million working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety
Work-related stress in the UK costs over £3.7 billion per year.

To establish whether you or your staff need assistance in stress evasion use our Stress Assessment Checklist - access this at the bottom of the page.

Causes of Stress.

The Health and Safety Executive groups the causes of workplace stress into seven categories. If you think about what causes you stress at work, it is likely that it will fall within one or more of these causes.

Cause of Stress	Examples
Organisational culture	Lack of communication and consultation Blaming others when things go wrong Ignoring or denying problems Expectation that people will regularly work excessively long hours or take work home with them
Demands of the Job	Too much to do and too little time Too little (or too much) training for the job Boring or repetitive work Not enough to do The working environment (e.g. busy, noisy, crowded or involving health & safety hazards) Having to deal with difficult people
Control over work	Lack of control over work activities
Relationships	Poor relationships with colleagues Poor relationships with clients or other organisations Bullying Sexual or racial harassment
Change	Uncertainty about what is happening Fears about job security
Role	Staff feeling that the job requires them to behave Lack of clarity about what is expected Confusion about how everyone fits in
Support	Lack of support from managers and co-workers Difficulty balancing the demands of work and home life

This issue should be a major theme of discussion during appraisals and in supervision or support sessions. For training, HR Advice or Health & Safety consultancy addressing how to effectively manage stress contact Charity BackRoom.

We can email you our Stress Assessment Checklist so you can establish whether you or your staff need assistance in stress evasion.

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Combating Stress

Causes of Stress.