Avoidance and Management of Work Related Stress: Guidance for Managers (стр. 1 )

Avoidance and Management of Work Related Stress: Guidance for Managers

1. Introduction

This Guidance is intended to be used in conjunction with the University’s Wellbeing Framework and Stress Policy. Guidance for Individuals on the Avoidance and Management of Work Related Stress is also available.

The aim of this document is to provide guidance to managers who are supporting colleagues affected by work related stress. The guidance will also help managers recognise situations and behaviours within the workplace which may contribute to stress, and enable them to identify and exhibit positive management behaviours which can help prevent and reduce stress at work.

Much of the Guidance is structured around the Health and Safety Executive’s advice on stress and their six main groups of common stressors: Demands; Control; Support; Relationships; Role; and Change

In order to position ourselves, managers should undertake, and keep record of, a team[1] Stress Risk Assessment. This will allow any concerns affecting the whole team to be highlighted so that steps can be taken to address any identified stressors and prevent work-related stress. As with all risk assessments, this should be reviewed and update on an annual basis.

2. Avoiding Work Related Stress

Managers can have a significant impact on reducing work related stress. Management style is identified as one of the major causes of workplace stress and the University’s current and emerging policies are aimed at encouraging good management practice. Proper implementation of these policies is fundamental in assisting you in preventing or reducing the occurrence of work related stress within your team.

Managers can cause (or prevent) stress by the way they behave towards their employees Managers can act as the gatekeepers to the presence or absence of hazardous (stressful) working conditions for their employees, for instance preventing an unfair workload being placed on an individual. Managers can ensure that stress is identified early if it occurs within their team Managers are responsible for the uptake and rollout of risk assessments for work stress within their teams.

2.1 Responsibilities

As a manager you are expected to conduct general risk assessments within your department. As part of the risk assessment process, you are expected to consider work related stress amongst the potential work related hazards.

If you become aware that a person is exhibiting signs of work-related stress or has been affected in the past, you are responsible for taking appropriate action. (The actions are identified below). Whilst the University cannot take responsibility for stress being experienced in an individual’s personal life, if that stress is having an impact on a person’s ability to undertake their work, you should take appropriate steps to indentify if and how the employee can be supported.

It is your responsibility to identify whenever possible when a member of staff is becoming adversely affected by their workload or other work related pressures. You may find it helpful to conduct an individual stress risk assessment with the individual concerned to enable you to jointly identify the actual and potential issues and identify actions to work towards resolving them.

However, if it is clear from the outset that you are identified as the individual’s key stressor, then it is not appropriate that you conduct the individual risk assessment and this should be delegated to your line manager. In exceptional circumstances, your Human Resources Officer can be asked to undertake the assessment.

If the stress is due to factors outside work, then you should suggest that the member of staff see their GP or counsellor, or obtain external professional support. Information on where to find sources of support can be found within the ‘Sources of Help and Information’ leaflet on the HR pages of the Staff Information Point.

2.2 Management Competencies

In 2007, the results of the first phase of a research project, jointly funded by the HSE and the CIPD, were published. This project aimed to clarify the specific behaviours required by managers to prevent and reduce stress in their employees effectively. As a result of this a framework of ‘Management competencies for preventing and reducing stress at work’ was produced, made up of 19 competencies, which provided behavioural indicators of what constitutes ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ management. To make the framework more manageable and user-friendly, a second phase of research was undertaken, aimed at both revising and refining the existing framework, and developing a ‘Stress management competency indicator tool’ to allow managers to examine the degree to which they exhibit the ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ behaviours. The resulting revised ‘Management competencies for preventing and reducing stress at work’ framework is shown in Appendix C. The framework can be used to reflect upon your own behaviour, and the questionnaire as a means of self-assessment.

2.3 Staff Survey

The University conducts a biennial staff survey to enable us to obtain and respond to qualitative and quantitative feedback on the quality of working life at York St John. It is helpful to reflect on this data and how it applies to your department/faculty to identify if there are any particular trends that emerge. In the 2008 survey, sources of stress cited, of significance, were conflicting demands/instructions; insufficient time to carry out work and workload; unable to take regular breaks; requirement to do unimportant tasks; consultation on change; insufficient resources. Further details can be obtained from the HR pages of the Staff Information Point.

3. Stress not related to work

The ability of members of your team to cope with pressures at work can be affected by their home circumstances. For example, if they are experiencing major events like bereavement, family sickness or having other personal problems, even pleasant events such as arranging a wedding or buying a house etc., can generate stress and impact upon their work performance. As a manager, you will have no control over these circumstances, however, you need to try to understand the effect that these personal issues can have on them and consider some temporary measures that could help to support the individual in the short or medium term. These could be reduced hours, withdrawal from external-facing aspects of their role etc.

4. Early warning signs

Outlined below is a list of general signs that may indicate that a member of your team is becoming distressed. This list is not exhaustive and guidance on how to respond to the signs is contained in Section 5.

Attitude and behaviour

·  Loss of motivation and commitment

·  Working increasingly longer hours with no tangible output

·  Failing to take annual leave entitlement

·  Erratic or poor time keeping

·  Unusual displays of emotion, for example irritability or tearfulness

Work relationships

·  Tension and conflict

·  Withdrawal from social contact

·  Negativity about other team members

Attendance

·  Increase in sickness absence – may be short term intermittent or long term

Work performance

·  Reduced performance – reduction in output, productivity

·  Reduced quality of work

·  Seems constantly tired or lacking energy

·  Displays poor judgement and indecisiveness

·  Overall deterioration in planning and control of work

Stress levels may become harmful within the workplace where members of staff face:

·  Under-utilisation of skills

·  Unmanageable workloads and unachievable deadlines

·  Too low a workload with little or no challenge

·  Lack of variety in work tasks

·  Inflexible and over-demanding work schedules

·  Cumulative or prolonged pressures

·  Conflicting demands which cause confusion

·  Lack of control and autonomy

·  Inadequate or inappropriate training

·  Low levels of support e. g. from inadequate or insensitive management

·  Role ambiguity

·  High levels of uncertainty – for example due to poorly defined roles and responsibilities

·  Bullying and harassment

·  Change, particularly if there is a lack of information and communication.

5. What you can do to support your staff

The main sources of stress at work, as defined by the HSE, are outlined below and include some actions managers can take to reduce the risks of stress becoming a problem within their teams.

It is recommended that you conduct a Team Stress Risk Assessment annually, or if circumstances change (Appendix B).

5.1 Demands

Conditions which can lead to stress include:

·  Too much to do in a restricted amount of time

·  Too little training for the requirements of the job

·  Being over qualified for a particular job role, leading to boredom and frustration

·  The working environment itself

As a manager, you should:

·  Consider the way a job is designed

·  Monitor team workload

·  Ensure that you prioritise tasks, reduce or exclude unnecessary work and consider the effects of sudden and unplanned work

·  Ensure that you match the skills and capability of the individual to the job. Provide training for individuals who need additional skills or knowledge to do the job and increase the scope of a job for those who are overqualified

·  Provide variety and responsibility by moving team members between jobs to ensure that everyone shares the responsibility for effective performance of the team

·  Ensure that all work equipment is suitable and in working order

5.2 Control

If people feel that they have no control over the work that they do then they can begin to feel disaffected, disempowered and lack motivation.