Introduction
1. Stress management is part of managers normal personnel management responsibilities for the welfare of staff. The aim of these guidelines is to assist you in preventing and reducing unacceptable pressure for yourself and your staff. Bear in mind that managers who feel stressed may in turn create a stressful environment for their staff.
Prevention is better than cure
2. Ensure that you:
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have, or quickly gain, the necessary skills to recruit, motivate and manage staff with appropriate competencies;
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exercise the appropriate management style, delegating clearly with proper direction in a supportive manner while at the same time allowing staff to plan their own work as far as is reasonably possible;
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are approachable, so that staff feel able to talk about everyday pressures and you are able recognise at an early stage physical or behavioural signs of pressure in your staff;
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use the appraisal system to discuss work with staff (e.g. the HSE advises asking staff to describe the three best and three worst aspects of their job, this is broadly in line with the CRA Appraisal System), and provide access to any necessary training;
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produce clearly defined job descriptions which include role interaction with others; state at interviews any potential job pressures, and arrange, in advance of arrival of new staff, effective induction;
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while recognising the constraints, take whatever steps you can to arrange for physical working conditions to be as comfortable as possible.
Monitor potential signs of stress
3. Signs include:
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higher staff turnover;
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increase in sickness absence;
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reluctance to take leave;
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poor time-keeping;
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increase in customer complaints.
4. Where stress caused or made worse by work could lead to ill health, the Health and Safety Executive advises that under health and safety law, the risk must be assessed. Such a risk assessment includes:
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identifying work pressures that could cause high levels of stress for more than a short period of time;
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assessing who may be harmed by such stress;
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establishing how to prevent the pressures developing into excessive stress.
Action to reduce stress
5. You can help to prevent pressure developing into stress by:
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demonstrating a co-operative rather than adversarial manner, and engendering team spirit;
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taking action to tackle the causes of stress, including stopping any bullying, harassment or prejudiced behaviour;
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adjusting workloads, if necessary;
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being aware of the pressures outside work;
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advising staff that they can be referred to a St Philips Medical Centre Doctor or can make their own appointment for a session of counselling;
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seeking advice from Human Resources on how to manage staff suffering from excessive or prolonged stress.
6. A change in office environment, work reorganisation, or job description can be particularly stressful for staff. Pressure can be reduced by prompt and regular communication with staff.
Support for staff suffering from stress
7. Unless known otherwise, it should be assumed, that all staff members are all capable of withstanding reasonable pressure from work. However, action should be taken when a member of staff:
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shows signs that pressure has developed into stress;
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states that work has become excessively stressful;
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suffers from stress related ill health.
8. In the event of this happening, an informal discussion should be held to establish the cause of stress. Practical steps should then be agreed to reduce or alleviate stress involving the member of staff as much as possible. If necessary, seeking help from the GP should be encouraged. Stress management training should be considered, bearing in mind that it concentrates on the individual and may not tackle the cause of pressure at work.
9. Whether or not others are also experiencing pressure at work should be established, and there should also be an awareness that staff covering for colleagues who are absent because of stress related illness may have to work harder and may in turn suffer from stress.
Formal procedures
10. If a member of staff makes a formal complaint, e.g. about harassment or overloading, the Staff Handbook provides guidance on handling formal grievances.
11. Advice should be sought from Human Resources in handling grievances, under-performance, frequent short-term absence or harassment incidents.
Sickness absence
12. All absences should be noted, as regular absences may indicate stress. If a member of staff has been on prolonged sickness absence because of stress-related illness, it is strongly advised that the case should be discussed with Human Resources.
13. If a member of staff is due to return to work after a prolonged sickness absence which is stress-related their recovery can be helped by:
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considering whether work responsibilities can be adjusted or flexible working arrangements are possible;
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ensuring that the member of staff is fit to return to the same job by requesting that the GP confirms in writing that the person can deal effectively with the same job;
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trying to re-design the job, if the GP is not confident that the person can go back to the same job, and then closely monitoring behaviour and performance.