Organisational stress management
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Transcript of Organisational stress management
Being Proactive: An Organisational Approach to Managing Workplace Stress
Presentation by
Raaz Dhamelia
KS School of Business Management
Ahmedabad (India)
Co. No. 9574 201 201
Healthy Work: Managing Stress in the Workplace. (2003)
“ Creating a healthy and safe workplace requires employers and employees to work systematically together to identify hazards and manage them”
Stress an integral and inevitable feature of most contemporary workplaces
Workplace stress arises when individuals perceive an imbalance between the pressures and demands made on them and the resources they have to cope with these demands
Managing Stress in the WorkplaceTraditional view
Stress the responsibility of the individual
Organisational viewEmployers and employees have a responsibility
to address work-related stress
The HSE Amendment Act 2002Objective:
To promote the prevention of harm to all persons at work through the systematic management of
hazards
HSE Amendment Act 2002 holds
Employers Responsible for Implementation of effective systems for
identifying existing and new hazards, including work-related stress
Systematic management of hazards, by eliminating them, isolating them or minimising them, in that order of preference.
Provision of opportunities for employee participation.
3 Approaches to Tackling Work-related Stress
Prevention Identifying and acting on the causes of stress Stress Risk Assessments
Management Giving staff the skills to cope / manage
Treatment Professional medical and psychological support
Stress Risk Assessment - A Preventive Approach
SRA aims to identify:1. The level stress (the harm)
2. The main sources of work-related stress (the hazards)
3. What practicable steps can be taken to eliminate the sources of stress
(hazards), if possible
An International PerspectiveAn international review of stress prevention
in the workplace highlights that there has been a lack of systematic Stress Risk Assessment (Kompier and Cooper, 1999).
The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Guidance recommends that a risk assessment approach be followed when tackling work-related stress
Step 1: Identify Hazards
What might cause harm?
Step 2: Evaluate Harm
Who couldbe harmed, and how?
Step 3 (b): Introduce controlsWhat can we do to reduce the risk
that hazards will cause harm?
Step 3 (a): Evaluate Risks
How likely is it that the hazard couldcause harm?
Step 4 & 5 - Record and Re-Assess
Comparison of a Risk Assessment With a Stress Risk Assessment
Risk Assessment Stress Risk Assessment
1. Identify the Hazards 1. Assess levels of stress (harm)
2. Evaluate the Harm 2. Identify main sources of stress
3. Evaluate the Risk 3. Identify the main sources of stress for individuals / teams
4. Introduce Controls 4. Identify what can be done to manage the main sources of stress
Stress Risk Assessment Process1. Planning and Consultation
2. Data Collection Qualitative methods e.g. interviews, focus groups, Stress DiariesQuantitative methods e.g. structured surveys, StressTools
3. Data Analysis
4. Feedback and Action Planning
StressTools A Tool for Tackling Work-related Stress
StressTools aims to help organisations identify and manage work-related stressors.
StressTools takes a preventive approach emphasising removing work-related stressors rather than treating stress symptoms
StressTools developed by the Keil Centre with the assistance of Birbeck College and local industry
StressTools won the European Health and Safety Best Practice Award.
StressTools3 Work Stress Risk Assessments(SRA)
Task-based SRA
Team-based SRA
Future-focused SRA
Task-based SRA Identify and control stressors and other human
factors hazards arising from an unusual, complex or hazardous task
To be included in pre-existing Risk Assessment process
Emphasises links between stress and safety
Tackles stigma associated with mentioning stress
Future-focused SRA Involve cross-section of employees identifying work-related
stressors likely to be associated with a future project or organisational change and planning preventative measures
Focuses on preventing future work-related stress
Relevant to major projects or organisational changes
Identifies relevant work-related stressors through employee involvement
Can be tailored to local circumstances
Identifies actions to prevent / manage future sources of work-related stress
Team-based SRAThe team-based SRA method, which identifies
levels and sources of stress in teams doing similar work in organisations and identifies locally relevant solutions through employee involvement is particularly relevant in light of the changes to the Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Act 2002.
Team-based SRA Involves 4 Steps…..Step 1. Evaluating harm .
Measures team members’ perceptions of level of work-related stress and benchmark levels of stress with other groups
Step 2. Identifying the hazards. Assesses which work- related stressors are causing stress, using a generic (40 predefined) and locally relevant work related stressors. Identifies the main work-related stressors affecting team members now or in the recent past
Step 3. Evaluating risks. Assesses what are the most significant sources of stress for team members and describing these sources in more detail.
Step 4. Introducing controls. Identifies what can be done by management or team
members to prevent and manage work-related stress
Conducting a Team-based SRA
Train project organiser / working team Needs to be well-respected by the team Important to maintain confidentiality about employees opinions
about stressors and levels of stress
Prepare for the team-based SRA Use cross-section of employees to identify local work-related
stressors
Customise the team-based SRA Identify sub-groups Choose comparison group for benchmarking purposes Add local work-related stressors Add additional questions. Questions need a yes no answer
format
Collect data Paper workbook / on-screen option
Results of Team-based SRA
Stress levels Stress comparisons with benchmark group Stress exposure - % of people in each group which
indicated that each stressor was “often” of “always” a source of stress
Stressors high- low Ranked stressors – significance of stressors Movement Written comments on main sources of stress
StressTools14 Management Standards Providing Guidance on How to Prevent Work-related Stressors
Workload Job Insecurity Teamworking Performance
feedback Training &
development Hours of work
Job design Management support Tools and equipment Communication Role ambiguity Skill under-utilisation Work-life balance Effort-reward imbalance
Each Management Standard Includes…
A definition of the stressor How the stressor can cause individual harm and organisational
harm How to identify if problem exists now or may do so in the future Management practices that may prevent or resolve these
problems
A table which includes: “States” which describe a well-managed organisation, in
relation to this stressor A space to record current organisational practice, enabling a
gap analysis to be done Examples of the types of best practice which exemplify the
“state” A space to record next steps/actions
International Research Shows1. Most of the activity in the field of stress
management has focused on reducing the effects of stress rather than on reducing the presence of stressors at work.
2. Most activities are primarilyy aimed at the individual rather than the organisation.
3. Concluded that successful management of stress requires intervention at both an individual and organisational level.
Benefits of Stress Risk Assessment
Signals to employees that the employer is being proactive and serious about managing stress in the workplace.
It ensures that subsequent stress-related activities aimed at management or treatment are targeted at specific problems and specific individuals.
Provides a tailored approach to managing
stress rather than a “pray and spray” approach. In the long term it is more effective in terms of costs and time.
In Conclusion Compared to other stress management
techniques
The risk assessment approach to stress is likely to more effective, as the source is being
addressed rather than the symptoms
It is a proactive
Stress Management = Good Management
and
Good Management = Stress Management