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Stress Management

Author: Ivan Robertson

US Consultant: Julie DiMauro

Summary

  • Employers have a legal duty to manage the risks to employees' health and safety, including the risks arising from stress. See The Legal Duty.
  • Following a best practice approach to managing stress is likely to have organizational benefits, including reducing sickness absence. See Building a Business Case for Stress Management.
  • Employers can use the "6 Essentials of Workplace Well-Being" as a framework for managing stress. See A Framework for Managing Stress.
  • Psychological well-being and resilience training are key to preventing stress. See Stress, Psychological Well-Being and Resilience.
  • Employers should manage situational and personal factors to minimize the risk of stress. See Causes of Stress.
  • If an employee's stress stems from factors outside the workplace, the organization should take steps to help the employee, because his or her work may be affected. See Personal Stress.
  • Stress management should be undertaken by teams and individuals throughout the organization. See Ownership of Stress Management.
  • Organizational commitment to stress management is essential to the success of the organization's stress-management program. See Organizational Buy-In.
  • Employers should conduct a stress audit - also known as a stress risk assessment - to identify sources of stress and what effect they have on employees. See Stress Audits.
  • A stress policy is essential to raising awareness about the organization's commitment and approach to managing stress. See Stress Policy.
  • Interventions that can help to deter stress include having a stress-prevention strategy, raising awareness about the organization's stress-prevention activities and considering the potential for stress during recruitment and training. See Primary Interventions.
  • Informing and training employees and managers on stress, enabling them to engage in exercise and teaching them relaxation techniques can help them to recognize stress and take action to deal with it if it occurs. See Secondary Interventions.
  • If an employee experiences stress, support for the employee on return to work and employee assistance programs or in-house counseling can help him or her to manage it. See Tertiary Interventions.
  • Organizations should examine the effect of their interventions to prevent and manage stress. See Evaluation.