Stressing your workers could get you in trouble (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Stressing your workers could get you in trouble

Up to five million Britons complain of work-related stress each year, but a new survey shows that most organisations are not following guidelines soon to be enforced by the Health and Safety Executive to manage and reduce it.

Seventy-nine per cent of health and safety professionals polled by Croner, a business information provider, have taken no action to implement the HSE's new stress 'Management Standards' introduced last year to help employers prevent and manage the UK's most prevalent occupational health condition.

Over half (55 per cent) of survey respondents are unaware of the standards, while 24 per cent have taken no action to put them into practice. The Management Standards are due to be enforced later this year, and employers will be expected to conform to them.

The HSE identifies six sources believed to contribute to workplace stress:

demands of the job,

control over how to work

support from colleagues and management

working relationships

clarity of role

organisational change

When the Management Standards are enforced, employers will have to meet a percentage target of staff who must think each standard is being achieved.

But the survey reveals that only seven per cent of organisations have taken any steps to implement the standards, with 14 per cent saying they are currently considering it.

Figures show that work-related stress accounts for 90 million working days lost per year, costing businesses around £3.7 billion.

Trevor Davies, health and safety expert from Croner, says: "Under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) employers must ensure staff are not made ill by their work. However, our survey suggests that companies are not doing enough to manage the six key stressors identified by the HSE.

"Misconceptions about stress need to be challenged to make people aware that it is not a weakness on behalf of the employee, but a serious occupational health condition.

"Stress is costing UK business billions each year in lost working days, not to mention the potential costs of compensation claims.

"It is in every employer's best interest to understand stress, and we are advising them to manage and monitor both working practices and the work environment to ensure they are not a health risk to staff."

For more information on stress and other health and safety issues visit www.healthandsafety-centre.net