This month’s article continues our exploration of Stress in the Workplace (please see last month’s Blog Post for Part One). This month we delve a little deeper into;
- What are some of the key roles and responsibilities in relation to Mental Well-being at Work?
- What is recent research and media coverage telling us?
- What should you do when an employee goes off citing “Stress at Work”?
Q1) What are some of the key roles and responsibilities in relation to Mental Well-being at Work
Firstly, it is important that individuals across the organisation see that their senior management believe in this issue as without their commitment, it is unlikely that measures to tackle this problem will be effective.
Senior management roles and responsibilities include:
- understanding what work-related stress is, what causes it and how it can be prevented and managed
- championing action to tackle work-related stress – for example, signing communications, attending seminars
- leading by example – demonstrating a commitment to work–life balance initiatives by not working excessive hours
- providing commitment to tackling this issue, including providing necessary resources to undertake the management standards or equivalent process and to implement solutions identified
- supporting human resources managers and health and safety managers in taking action to prevent and manage stress.
Secondly, HR and health and safety managers have an important role in assisting employers to proactively address work-related stress, and in doing so reduce the likelihood of employees suffering due to its occurrence.
Health and Safety & HR Managers roles and responsibilities include:
- keeping up to date with best practice relating to work-related stress
- conducting and reviewing relevant risk assessments
- finding out about specific issues that may indicate that risk assessments need reviewing or updating – such as evidence of an employee suffering stress or larger management changes to the business
- providing information to employees about stress-related illnesses and their obligations to inform managers about risks at work
- reporting any wider concerns about risks to health from stress at work to board level
- examining stress as a possible factor in relation to frequent or long-term absenteeism for individual employees
- identifying what medical and other evidence is required to determine whether the employee may have a disability within the meaning of the Disability Discrimination (NI) Order 2006 – if so, considering whether the employee is being treated less favourably for a reason related to the disability, and whether there are reasonable adjustments that could be made
- reporting their concerns to appropriate senior personnel while maintaining any obligations of confidentiality.
Line managers too have an important role in assisting employers to proactively address work-related stress. With often the most direct contact with employees, line managers can have a unique insight and even influence over the occurrence and recurrence of work-related stress.
Line Managers roles and responsibilities include:
- understanding what work-related stress is, what causes it and how it can be prevented and managed
- engaging and communicating with staff about stress and raise awareness
- having awareness of the organisation’s policies and procedures on this issue
- supporting and getting involved in organisational initiatives to tackle stress, for example, encouraging staff to complete questionnaires, attend focus groups or suggest solutions
- understanding their role in preventing and managing work-related stress, and that they can sometimes cause or exacerbate it
- having awareness of their competencies in managing and preventing this issue and how this can impact on staff, as well as taking action to improve their competencies
- identifying potential causes of stress before they become a problem
- identifying work-related stress in their team members early and work with the individual and human resources in resolving the problem
- supporting staff to prevent work related stress and to help them manage it once it occurs, including providing access to relevant support services
- identifying and implementing solutions that will prevent work-related stress in their teams
- helping staff return successfully to work after work-related stress absence
- demonstrate awareness and support in relation to factors affecting staff.
It is important also to be mindful of, and create awareness of the responsibility employee’s themselves hold in relation to minimising workplace stress. Employees also have a duty to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and of others who may be affected by their actions.
Employees roles & responsibilities include:
- Informing their employer if they feel the pressure of the job is putting them or anyone else at risk of ill health
- suggesting ways in which the work might be organised to alleviate the stress
- informing their employer if they are suffering from a medical condition that appears to be long-term and is affecting their ability to carry out day-to-day tasks, including memory and learning
- discussing any reasonable adjustments that could be made to assist them in performing their job
Mind.Org has also developed guides to support employees, and to encourage them to take some control over managing their own stress levels. They advise employees to;
- Understand more about stress. They state that recognising the signs of stress and learning about the causes of stress is a good place to start.
- Figure out what you find stressful and helpful. You could make a Wellness Action Plan to map out what causes you stress and what keeps you well. Once you know what’s best, talk to your employer. They may be able to make some changes to help you.
- Learn different coping techniques. Everyone deals with stress differently, so take time to find methods that work for you. Use them as soon as you start to feel pressure building. Check out the guides from the Stress Management Society for ideas.
- Try practicing mindfulness. This practice is about focusing on the here and now. It might help you to find calmness and clarity to respond to stressful situations. See our pages on mindfulness to learn more.
- Look after your physical health. Eat well and try a gentle activity like going for a walk or doing a chair-based exercise. Our pages on physical activity and food and mood have more details on how this can help your mental health.
These are some helpful tips which anyone and everyone can implement.
Q2 – What is recent research and media coverage telling us?
In a 2024 Report based on data from the Labour Force Survey, Northern Ireland has been found to be the UK region with the highest percentage of people experiencing stress. 17.7% of Northern Ireland reported being under stress, compared with 12.5% of the UK on average.
Whilst certainly concerning that almost a fifth of workers state they are stressed, the fact that NI has the highest rates in all of the UK is also significant.
In support of that finding, the Q4 report from the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Quarterly Economic Survey says that key concerns for Businesses right now include difficulty recruiting and retaining staff, leaving many businesses operating below capacity. This issue of understaffing is believed to be one of the reasons why employees of organisations in Northern Ireland are under increased strain.
Q3) – What should you do when an employee goes off work citing “Stress at Work”?
The majority of this article has been focused on reducing the impacts of Stress at Work, however, managing the impacts is also critical.
Where possible, an employer should help a worker who’s experiencing stress to stay in work. However, whilst the ideal workplace will have measures in place and a culture which supports open communication and a proactive approach towards reducing employee and team stress, what should employers do in the event that a doctors certificate arrives citing “Stress at Work”, without pretext.
This can be concerning and frustrating for employer’s, in terms of determining what has been causing the stress with a view to improving the situation, and of course the query of am I “allowed” to contact the employee?
Best practice recommends that when an employee cites stress at work as a cause for absence, this should be explored without delay. It is one of the few absence reasons which warrants and often benefits from communications with the employee without perhaps waiting and going through general absence review meetings after 4 weeks for example. Many workplace often explicitly write that into their Absence Policies.
As the absence is directly related to the workplace, often the only way to work towards a return to work is to explore and seek to resolve the situation. However, employers must always bear in mind that whilst the absence may be related to stress at work, but in actuality it may be a result of the physical impacts of that and any contact should always take consideration of this. Workers often benefit from regular contact because it can:
- prevent isolation
- support them while off sick
- help with the return to work.
However, discretion should always be exercised and on an individual basis, to ensure the contact is both reasonable and is focused primarily on the wellbeing of the employee. That is whilst an employer might carry out a stress risk assessment: including discussing the reasons behind the stress and avoid issues that may increase it and define an action plan with the employee, however, they should always avoid excessive contact while the employee is off sick.
If you have any related queries, or we can support you in assessing or managing workplace Stress or its impacts, do reach out to us.
