stress

[nige b]

wow i am over 3/4 way through running the HSE strss questionaire past my guys ( had to point out this is for me not the company ) and its looking like i have some work to do on bullying !!! and informing the chaps about their role

has any one else tried this exercise?

Nige

[Keith1983]

I did have a brief look at it. It's all well and good as long as people give it accurate input!

[nige b]

Keith thats why i made sure the guys knew it was for me not the company

one chap had alreadty started to fill it in thinking it was for the company anddddddddddd he rippped it up when he was told mmmmmmmmmmmm lol

[Keith1983]

I think stress is a very difficult subject anyway Nige, it's not relatively straight forward like noise you can say that above certain limits and at certain frequencies it will cause you a problem. With stress it's very subjective. What I might call friendly banter someone else may see as bullying. My knowledge on stress, I must admit, is lacking but it doesn't look like a bad starting point or a tool for those of us that aren't experts to identify a problem before looking into it further. What's your knowledge on stress like Nige? It would be interesting to see an "experts" take on it.

[ChrisD]

And dont forget - stress isnt just something that happens or starts in the workplace. People can have issues outside of work which could ultimately result in it effecting their work. Such as marital problems, financial difficulties etc etc.

I think we can all relate to having some form of stress at some point in our lives that isnt work related but from what Ive seen and been involved with, many companies only think of it as being `in-house` , ie, a bullying issue or perhaps people are simply struggling within their role.

When dealing with stress, companies have to look at the bigger picture and ask more questions to get to the root causes of stress. Look at outside influences. This can be difficult as some people will not want other people knowing their personal business - so it can become a tricky topic.

[nige b]

my background in the prison service has caused me to look into stress quite deeply.
i aggree one mans stress is anothers easy time. There is no common level.

And pepole are really afraid of reporting stress to their managers as is can be seen as 'wimping out'

The origins of stress can be work related , Home life , relationship,bullying and even someing as ''simple'' as the commute to and from work.
using the hse template will only identify work related stress managers need to be aware of what to look for in their employees (and themselves) to help target support measures.
Sorry if these are fairy randon points if there is interest i will put some thing together for the download section.
I am as we speak working on a tool box talk for our chaps on Bullying that will go on the board for all to use.

Regards Nigel

[Keith1983]

I'd certainly appreciate a fairly generic beginners guide to stress. It is something I'd like to learn more about but as I'm a relative newcomer to the world of health and safety (been in the game for 18 months) I've lots to learn aswell as stress! I think as a society we are much more aware of it than we used to be however I think there is still a stigma attached to those suffering from it. I've had stressful times in the past with a relationship breakdown, change of job, money problems all coming at once and I for one would have a lot of respect for those who accept and try and tackle stress related problems.

[ChrisD]

I forgot to add - I saw an instance at an old place of work where a collegue went off for just over a month with stress due to the demands of work.

She had a doctors note, she also wrote everything down on paper and passed it onto her manager at the time so they where aware of what was happening, how it `may` have occurred etc etc.

BUT, the BIG failing of the company was to do NOTHING about it.

When she came back to work, nothing had changed. The work was still there, the stresses from the job where still apparent. The management had done absolutely nothing to reduce the risk of stress and they did nothing to even assure the lady in question that things will change.

She eventually left the company but as far as im aware she never took it further.

The company in end where let of very lightly as any claim could have been a nightmare for them. They where struggling financially so any claims / compenstations and / or fines would most likely have killed them off (so to speak).

So , if stress is an area of concern then procedures must be done to make sure that, like with any hazard, it is reduced or eliminated. Doing nothing really isnt an option.

Its definately an interesting area to get involved in but its also a very tricky one as well..

[Keith1983]

Surely stress is part of some jobs and to some extent how we deal with it may determine how we progress professionally. I have got alot more responsibility with my current role from my previous one and so with that comes added stress. Surely we must draw the line somewhere and say that if someone cannot handle the responsibility and the pressure and stress which comes with ith then they are simply not ideal for that role. Does it always have to be down to a shortcoming on the employers behalf? I'm not saying that if you're in a certain position you should expect to be bullied or anything like that but stress is part of work isn't it?

[ChrisD]

I can see where your coming from Keith but in this instance the company in question were making a hell of a lot of redundancies and then piled extra work onto those employees who managed to keep their jobs.

A lack of training, a lack of organisation and a lack of leadership from those above led to many a row with management and shop floor which in itself led to stress.

The lady in question told the management she could not possibly cope with the amount of work they were asking her to take on but she got the usual - `give it a go for a couple of months and see how you get on` speech.

Of course, it never worked, despite numerous calls to receive help etc.

Its a long story but since that incident I believe the company has made more redundancies and only a handful of employees still remain there.

[Keith1983]

I appreciate in this instance Chris the company were at fault and unreasonable expectations and pressures were applied by them. However I'd be interested to hear people's opinions on when people simply aren't suitable to certain roles and responsibilities due to the pressure and associated stress which comes with those roles. For example would a formula one driver be able to claim he was put under too much stress by the person trying to overtake him? Ofcourse not but somewhere there must be an expected level of presure which can lead to stress depending on your job role?

[JulesWatson]

Hi Nige

Sorry if you've already seen this but the HSE's web site on Stress Management is comprehensive and very useful. My company is currently discussing how to setup a risk assessment for workplace stress and this is the guidance we are using.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/index.htm

In the Resources section there is a Tools tab that contains links to the HSE Management Standards Indicator Tools. These include a survey already setup that you can use or incorporate with your own survey.

Hope it helps out.

Regards
Julie