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[forum admin]

The HSE recently unveiled a new website to help businesses prevent work-related stress. The website includes updated advice and guidance, tools to help prevent stress at work, a self-assessment questionnaire for line managers and case studies and practical examples of things that have worked well for other employers and organisations. The focus of the new website is the Management Standards for work-related stress which are already being used by many organisations.

Last year in Great Britain a total of 13.5 million days were lost to work-related stress.  It is a major cause of occupational ill health resulting in sickness absence, high staff turnover and poor performance for organisations.

Recent research has also highlighted the fact that many employees do not like to inform their managers or employers when they are suffering from stress, preferring to keep their problems outside of the office.

The HSE’s Management Standards aim to help manage the issue and minimise the impact of job and work-related stress on businesses.

Launching the new stress website at the Health and Wellbeing at Work exhibition, Peter Brown, Head of the HSE Health and Work Division said:

“Pressure is part and parcel of all work and helps to keep us motivated, but excessive pressure can lead to stress which undermines performance, is costly to employers and can make people ill.

“This new website will enable employers to easily access all the information they need to help prevent stress in their workplace.

“In the current economic crisis businesses are looking to save wherever possible and managing work-related stress effectively could represent some significant savings.”

[Robin Tetley]

This is a great idea.

[Bob]

I was just talking about something like this in another discussion here. Basically yes, whatever a boss can do to help stressed employees or to talk about these kinds of issues the better.

[Robin Tetley]

Of course I agree 100%. Twenty years ago I don't think people would admit work related stress. I might be wrong there and it's a huge generalisation but I think it's more "PC" these days but that's a good thing.

[Malcolm]

Work related stress has always been around but I agree it's more in the spotlight now.

Some think that's good and some think that's bad.

I think there's a fine line between genuine unhealthy stress and positive work stress that an employee can thrive with.

[Robin Tetley]

I think I agree. When I worked in the taxi office there was a certain amount of busy work stress (trying to juggle five things at once) that I thrived upon. This is different from the kind of stress that (as you say) is un healthy. Worries and job security concerns etc.

[Bob]

There is definitely a healthy dose of stress and as you say an un healthy kind.

Speaking for myself in my job my stress levels are based upon a 50/50 ratio. 

[Robin Tetley]

I'm lucky then in that I rarely have job related stress. I'm the kind of person that doesn't react well to stress though in the Taxi office there was always the juggling three jobs kind of stress and I did enjoy that.