What should employers do about stress that is not work related?
It is, of course, true that the stress individuals experience is very often not work related. Stress can be caused by many factors such as:
It’s a real dilemma for employers as to how best to deal with personal, non‐work stress problems that employees experience. Identifying (and dealing with) these types of individual stress problem is not normally part of a Stress Risk Assessment survey, mainly because workplace risk assessments focus on work related hazards only. Nor would it be appropriate or ethical to identify at-risk individuals as it would obviously compromise anonymity and confidentiality.
However, the fact remains that stress isn’t just an organizational problem. It can be, and often is, a major problem for individuals, which increases the risk of mental and physical health problems. And because stress affects performance, productivity and behaviours at work, neither should it be ignored at work. Managing stress on an individual level is therefore better thought of as part of an organization's Stress Risk Management and support processes and dealt with in a very different way.
Line managers, who need training in this area, have a key role in early identification of such problems. And support structures such as Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) can be very helpful, providing employees with confidential access to Counselling and other support services. Sometimes external experts such as psychological therapists can also play a valuable role in supporting individuals with stress problems.
It's good practice to state clearly within your stress / well-being policy what support is available for staff who experience non-work stress problems and how people can access that support. Providing a commercial Employee Assistance Programme or similar service is not the only option and may not be viable for smaller organizations or those with fewer resources. So it is well worth checking out what free support services might be available locally.
In some parts of the UK, notably in Scotland and Wales, a lot of support and advice is available free of charge, through national workplace health promotion / improvement initiatives (e.g. Healthy Working Lives and Healthy Working Wales). In England, support tends to be more patchy, good in some areas, less so in areas. There are some very good services offered through NHS / Local Authority health promotion schemes, but it's also worth checking out services offered by charities such as Mind, who can often offer support such as access to counselling through an extensive local Mind Association network. Networks such as Mindful Employer are another excellent source of information related to mental health problems at work.
- Bereavement and loss
- Relationship breakdown
- Financial problems,
- Caring for sick or disabled children and / or elderly parents
- Personal or family illness
- Commuting pressures
It’s a real dilemma for employers as to how best to deal with personal, non‐work stress problems that employees experience. Identifying (and dealing with) these types of individual stress problem is not normally part of a Stress Risk Assessment survey, mainly because workplace risk assessments focus on work related hazards only. Nor would it be appropriate or ethical to identify at-risk individuals as it would obviously compromise anonymity and confidentiality.
However, the fact remains that stress isn’t just an organizational problem. It can be, and often is, a major problem for individuals, which increases the risk of mental and physical health problems. And because stress affects performance, productivity and behaviours at work, neither should it be ignored at work. Managing stress on an individual level is therefore better thought of as part of an organization's Stress Risk Management and support processes and dealt with in a very different way.
Line managers, who need training in this area, have a key role in early identification of such problems. And support structures such as Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) can be very helpful, providing employees with confidential access to Counselling and other support services. Sometimes external experts such as psychological therapists can also play a valuable role in supporting individuals with stress problems.
It's good practice to state clearly within your stress / well-being policy what support is available for staff who experience non-work stress problems and how people can access that support. Providing a commercial Employee Assistance Programme or similar service is not the only option and may not be viable for smaller organizations or those with fewer resources. So it is well worth checking out what free support services might be available locally.
In some parts of the UK, notably in Scotland and Wales, a lot of support and advice is available free of charge, through national workplace health promotion / improvement initiatives (e.g. Healthy Working Lives and Healthy Working Wales). In England, support tends to be more patchy, good in some areas, less so in areas. There are some very good services offered through NHS / Local Authority health promotion schemes, but it's also worth checking out services offered by charities such as Mind, who can often offer support such as access to counselling through an extensive local Mind Association network. Networks such as Mindful Employer are another excellent source of information related to mental health problems at work.