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Stress at Work
Tom Mellish, TUC Health and Safety Policy Officer
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Stress at Work
The TUC’s Vision
No one should leave work at the end of the day less healthy than
they were when they started
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Stress at Work
Topics to be covered
• Stress – what it is and what a policy could look like
• Stress - and bullying - and alcohol/drugs
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Stress at Work
Definition of stress
“the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them.”
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Stress at Work
HSE research indicates that: • about half a million people
experience work-related stress at a level they believe was making them ill;
• up to 5 million people in the UK feel “very” or “extremely” stressed by their work; and
• work-related stress costs society between £3.7 billion and £3.8 billion every year.
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Stress at Work
TUC SURVEY OF TRADE UNION SAFETY
REPRESENTATIVES
1998, 2000 & 2002
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Stress at Work
TUC Survey
• 250,000 Safety Reps in UK
• Over 8,9200 in 2000, 5,350 in 2002 and 4,500 in 2004
• Over 1,000 from workplaces with fewer than 50 employees
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Stress at Work
Risks 2000 2002 2004
Stress 66% 55% 58%
Slips/Trips 32% 33%
DSE 36% 34%
MSD 45% 31%
RSI 41% 37%
Temp 31% 23%
Noise 26% 20%
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Stress at Work
Stress
Factors 2002
Workloads 99.4%
Cuts in staff 64%
Change 63%
Long hours 55%
Shift work 22%
Bullying 28%
2004
79%49%47%37%22%27%
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Stress at Work
• where there are over 1000 workers the percentage rises to 63%;
• overwork or stress is more of a concern in the public sector (64%), than in the private sector (48%) and this represents an increase in both sectors since 2002;
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Stress at Work
WorkloadsIn 2004 survey, 4 out of every 5 safety reps (79%) consider that workloads are a problem.Compared to private sector (73%), problem of workloads is greater in public sector (83%) and voluntary sector (77%).
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Stress at Work
Staff cuts up from third to second place as main stress related problem. Staff cuts identified by half the safety reps (49%) in the 2004 survey, show similar results to 2002 and 2000 surveys. They are identified more often in the private sector (53%) than in the public.
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Stress at Work
For individual sectors, as in 2000, cuts in staff a particular problem:
• Central Government (69%); • Banking, Finance and Insurance (59%).
Staff cuts more concern to safety reps in:
• workplaces with 100 - 200 workers (51%) and over 1000 workers (55%); and in
• London (57%) and the South East (54%).
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Stress at Work
• Safety reps in all sizes of workplace identified workloads as a major problem, but the worst are workplaces with between 100-200 workers (84%).
• Workload is a particular problem in South West England - 86% identified it as an issue related to stress.
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Stress at Work
For individual sectors, workloads are a particular problem identified by safety reps in:
• Education (88%);• Central Government (85%);• Health Services, Local
Government and Banking, Finance and Insurance (all 83%).
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Stress at Work
BullyingBullying still significant problem. Number of safety reps identifying it is just over one in four (27%). More often in the public sector (30%) and voluntary sector (29%) than in the private (20%).
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Stress at Work
Bullying is seen as an increasing problem since 2002 by safety reps in:
• Central Government (40% increasing from 37%);
• Local Government (37% increasing from 33%)
• Bullying more of a problem as size of workplace increases - 34% of safety reps from workplaces over 1000 compared with 18% in workplaces with fewer than 50 workers.Bullying particular problem in London (36%) and Wales (33%).
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Stress at Work
Sources of stress include:
• Job design – boring, no control, isolation, pace/flow,lack of breaks, too little/too much work
• Contractual – low pay, unsocial hours, long hours, excessive overtime, job insecurity
• Environment – noise, lighting, overcrowding, fumes, canteen, temperature
• Relationships – supervisors, sexism/racism, bullying, violence, communication, customers,
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Observational:Workers may act differently when stressed
Mood changes:• bad moods• aggression• irritability• irrationality • overreacting• negativity• Indecisive-
ness
Behaviour change:• forgetfulness • mistakes • accident
prone • speaking too
loud/fast• personal
appearance
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Stress at Work
Organisational
In an organisation stress maymanifest itself as:• High levels of sickness and
absence• High accident rates• High turnover of staff• Low morale• Low productivity• Bullying
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Stress at Work Self-reportedphysical and emotional symptoms of stress• Headaches• Aches and
pains• Nausea or
dizziness • Lethargy• Unexplained
rashes• Indigestion
and heart burn
• Low self esteem
• Poor concentration
• Loss of libido• Depression or
anxiety• Anger -
irritability• Panic attacks
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Stress at Work
An effective policy on stress should:
• recognise stress as a health and safety issue;
• be jointly developed and agreed with trade unions;
• have commitment from the top;• guarantee a non-judgemental
approach; and• apply to everyone
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Stress at Work
The objectives of a policy should be:
• to prevent stress by identification and elimination;
• to recognise and deal with stress through education, participation and co-operation; and
• to rehabilitate through the provision of independent and confidential counselling
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Stress at Work
Key to a stress policy is good riskassessment. This should include:
Physical environ EquipmentJob content Working timeManagement Training Service conditions Support
systems Managing change
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Stress at Work
Court of Appeal Judgement, February 2002
(Hatton, Barber, Bishop and Jones)• Foreseeable• Workplace Signs• Signs from the Employee• Prior Sickness Periods• Advice line
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Stress at Work
• Union Campaign for legislation
• HSE Standards on Managing Stress at Work
www.hse.gov.uk/stress/stresspilot/standards.htm
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Stress at Work
Provision of occupational health
• Access to OH services• Workplace OHS• Group OHS• Contracted-out OH• HSE’s Employment Medical
Advisory Service (EMAS)• National Health Service models• Community Services
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