Workplace stress: Employers responsibilities

Symptoms of workplace stress

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines stress as:

‘the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them.’

Stress can affect our emotions and behaviour and can also have physical effects on our bodies. Stress can lead to feelings of tension, anger and overwhelm. It can also cause disturbances to our sleeping and eating habits.

Stress can also cause unpleasant symptoms such as headaches and muscle tension, stomach pains and heart palpitations.

Workplace stress happens when people experience stress due to their work related activities; this could be due to the job itself, the working environment or their interactions with other workers.

Signs and symptoms of general workplace stress may include:

• Coworkers falling out and arguing
• Increased staff turnover
• Staff underperforming in their roles
• More sickness absences than usual
• Increase in complaints and grievances being raised
• More people complaining about stress

Signs and symptoms of stress in an individual worker might look like:

• Mood swings
• Being quieter, less sociable and more withdrawn
• Problems with timekeeping
• Being nervous or on edge
• Being emotional, for example becoming angry, sensitive or tearful
• Seeming less committed to their role or less motivated

People who are experiencing high levels of workplace stress may take this feeling with them when they leave work. Work related stress can impact on a person’s personal life, causing issues with their sleep, putting strain on relationships or causing them to resort to negative coping mechanisms, such as alcohol.

Not everyone experiences stress in the same way and some people deal with it better than others. Some workers may not feel comfortable approaching their boss about experiencing work related stress, therefore it is important that employers know the signs to look out for and how to approach the topic with sensitivity and care.

Stress can make pre existing mental and physical conditions worse. Physical conditions, especially painful ones, can also make people feel more stressed.

Common stressors at work

People who are stressed are less likely to make good decisions and more likely to make errors, miss deadlines and be more emotional than practical. This can be very damaging to the workplace and in some cases may put people at work at risk.

The HSE identifies six main areas that can cause work related stress if they are not managed properly:

• Demands
• Control
• Support
• Relationships
• Role
• Change

It is important that employers consider each of these key areas and decide how employees may be affected and how they can be best supported in order to reduce risk and improve employee satisfaction.

Some of the common stressors people experience in the workplace include:

• Tight deadlines
• Difficult customers or service users
• Poor relations with others at work, including bullying
• Understaffing or high staff turnover
• Confusing organisational structure
• Poorly defined roles
• Inequality within the workforce
• Work that is physically or emotionally demanding
• Lack of proper training
• Not matching workers with the right skills to the right jobs

Handling workplace stress

Some tips for handling workplace stress include:

• Speaking openly about workplace stress
• Making adjustments at work
• Enrolling workers in a wellbeing program
• Building a supportive and positive workplace culture
• Providing training, education and support
• Ensuring workers have access to adequate resources

Speaking openly about workplace stress

Employees and employers should feel able to speak openly about workplace stress and wider conversations about mental health need to be normalised.

Employers and managers should approach conversations about stress and mental health with sensitivity. When a colleague discloses that they are stressed or a manager spots the signs, it is best to have a quiet chat in private.

When speaking to a worker about workplace stress, employers should:

• Approach the situation in an open minded way
• Ask the employee how they are feeling
• Use active listening techniques to help workers feel heard
• Try to identify the root causes of the stress
• Work collaboratively to find a solution

Once an open conversation has taken place and any causes or trigger identified, the next step is to make changes within the workplace to manage stress, for example:

• Providing inhouse support
• Signposting an employee to external support (such as their GP)
• Making adjustments within the workplace

All conversations and communication between employees and their managers about workplace stress should remain confidential.

It is also helpful to share other points of contact with employees, in case they do not feel able to approach their direct employer or manager about workplace stress, for example:

• Human resources department (HR)
• Trade union representative
• Designated mental health first aider
• GP

Making adjustments at work

Making adjustments for an employee can help them to deal with workplace stress. Employers should consider making adjustments to help workers feel less stressed as far as is reasonably practicable.

Adjustments may include flexible working arrangements, such as:

• Reducing working hours
• Compressing hours (longer hours over fewer days)
• Working from home
• Hybrid working (part on site, part off site)

Remember that if a colleague is covered under The Equality Act 2010 due to a disability, they have a legal right to request reasonable adjustments to help them at work. Employees can also not be discriminated against due to a protected characteristic and employers can be prosecuted for doing so.

Depending on the root cause of the stress, other workplace adjustments may help to remove or reduce stressor, for example:

• Reducing environmental stress by maintaining a comfortable temperature, putting in better lighting, improving the surroundings or upgrading equipment
• Hiring additional workers to ensure no one is overworked or expected to do more than their fair share of the workload
• Changing the working day, for example providing a longer break or a later start time

Work place stress is reduced when people with the right skills and experience are assigned to roles where they can utilise these skills. If workers are struggling, employers should consider:

• Ways to support workers to better manage their workload
• Providing extra training
• Reducing or changing a worker’s role or responsibilities

It is also vital to ensure that the rest of the workforce is not negatively impacted by any changes that are being made to support someone who is stressed.

Enrolling workers in a wellbeing program

Employers may consider offering to support to employees to help them to deal with stress and look after their wellbeing, for example:

• Enrolling workers in an employee assistance program (EAP)
• Starting a mental health peer support program
• Consulting with occupational health professionals

An employee assistance program is a type of benefit given to workers. There are different types of wellbeing initiatives available to workers that focus on different aspects of workplace wellbeing. Initiatives may include:

• Mental health support
• Mental wellness
• Counselling
• Life coaching
• 24/7 helplines to discuss workplace stress and other issues

Some employers choose to offer other aspects of wellbeing to their employees such as free gym memberships, massages or yoga classes.

It is also important that employees learn resilience, problem solving skills and understand stress busting techniques that can help them to look after their own wellbeing.

Workers can help to look after their own stress levels by:

• Asking for help when needed
• Raising issues as they arise rather than waiting until they escalate
• Learning to set boundaries
• Practicing self-care
• Speaking openly about mental health and stress
• Engaging fully with any training and support they are offered
• Taking steps to reduce their stress levels such as taking a break or going outside during their lunch hour
• Finding ways to connect with colleagues and improve teamwork 
• Using healthy coping mechanisms

Stress busting techniques

In addition to putting controls in place in the workplace, employers may want to offer guidance to their workforce about how to manage their stress levels and boost their wellbeing. This could be built into wider training about how to manage stress within the workplace.

Teaching employees about stress busting techniques empowers them to take accountability for their own wellbeing and can reduce the risks of people developing unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Useful stress busting techniques include:

• Exercise – physical activity boosts endorphins (feel good hormones in the brain) and can make people feel more positive, healthier and better able to cope with stress
• Yoga – yoga involves a series of stretches and poses that can help to focus the mind and help us feel calmer and more centred
• Deep breathing techniques – deep breathing techniques boost oxygen levels, help with concentration and can help people to feel calmer relatively quickly
• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – CBT teaches people problem solving techniques and equips them with skills that allow them to reframe negative thoughts and break unhelpful cycles, which can be beneficial to those suffering from stress and overwhelm
• Meditation and mindfulness – both meditation and mindfulness require a special type of mental focus that allows us to clear our mind of unwanted thoughts and negativity. Both techniques can be helpful to people suffering with stress, anxiety or anger issues
• Engaging in hobbies – stressed workers can easily experience overwhelm and burnout, leading them to disengage with life outside of work. Taking time to enjoy hobbies and activities helps people with their work/ life balance and reminds them that there are so many positive and important parts of their life outside of the workplace

It is also important that workers take care of themselves outside of work to ensure they are in good mental and physical health. This includes getting enough sleep, eating a healthy and balanced diet, staying hydrated and reducing alcohol intake.

Building a supportive and positive workplace culture

Workers thrive in businesses who that have a supportive and positive workplace culture. This is because they feel valued and respected. They also know that support is there for them when they need it and how to access it. Supporting workplaces encourage colleagues to support one another and be team players, which in turn can reduce feelings of stress and overwhelm on individuals.

A supportive workplace may look like:

• Having a clear, written policy in place on mental health and stress
• Having an open-door policy where workers feel their manager or employer is approachable
• Encouraging employees to raise concerns
• Promoting a healthy work/ life balance
• Providing training for manager to strengthen their conflict/resolution skills

Sharing resources

Adverse life events can also affect people’s performance at work. Employers may be able to help support workers through difficult times by allowing them time off for appointments, offering paid or unpaid leave or making temporary changes to working patterns. Additionally, employers can share resources with their employees so that they know where to go to get support outside of work, for example:

• Therapy or counselling services
• Places to go for alternative therapies such as acupuncture or aromatherapy
• Charities and websites such as the Mind website

Employers can also encourage workers to formulate a Wellness Action Plan which can help them to think about what causes them stress and who they can go to for support.

A Wellness Action Plan is a personalised, practical tool that can help workers to identify:

• What keeps them well at work
• What causes them to become unwell
• How to address a mental health problem at work

Taking time off work

Where possible, employers should try to encourage workers to stay in work, however, sometimes it may be necessary for an employee to take time off work due to stress, especially if this has been recommended by a doctor.

If an employee has a fit note and been signed off work due to workplace stress, they may be entitled to company sick pay or statutory sick pay, depending on their employment contract.

A break from work can give a person space and time to deal with their issues. Time off can be useful when a person is experiencing a significant impact on their physical and mental health due to workplace stress.

If someone needs time off due to stress it may be helpful to check in on them occasionally just to offer support and help them feel less alone. It is important these check ins are not intrusive and do not provide a source of further stress.

When an employee returns to work after a period of time off due to stress, employers have a responsibility to conduct a return to work meeting to:

• Ensure that the employee is ready to return to work
• Check whether they need any support
• Conduct or review their stress risk assessment
• Discuss any controls, such as a phased return to work
• Update them on any necessary information that they missed while they were off

Acceptable stress levels

Experiencing stress, including workplace stress in a normal part of daily life. It is untenable to think that every aspect of workplace stress can be removed, therefore it is important that workers have a level of resilience to deal with normal stress levels.

• Normal stress levels are manageable and should not disrupt daily work activities
• Acute stress is temporary
• Chronic stress requires attention and suggests an employee is not coping

A small or moderate amount of stress may even be beneficial to workers as it can keep them motivated, spur them on to meet deadlines and help with focussing.

To deal with regular levels of workplace stress it is vital that employees are empowered with the right tools, skills and resources.

Employer responsibilities

Employers have a legal duty to look after the health, safety and wellbeing of their workers. This duty extends to protecting workers from stress at work. Employers should conduct a risk assessment about workplace stress and respond to their findings by putting safeguards and controls in place.

Any organisation with more than five employees should record their risk assessments in writing.

A collaborative effort between employers and employees should be used to help identify and deal with stress in the workplace.

Employers and employees should work together to devise a plan to tackle workplace stress:

• Identify the risks of stress
• Decide how to remove or control the risks
• Agree on what steps to take
• Make changes to avoid or reduce risks
• Monitor and review the plan

The above steps form the plans for a workplace stress risk assessment. If an employee reports that they are experiencing workplace stress, their employer should conduct and individual risk assessment.

A risk assessment can help to:

• Identify sources of workplace stress and put sensible, practical controls in place
• Show that an employer is taking their legal duty to control stress seriously
• Let everyone in the workforce know what their duties are

The best way to deal with workplace stress is to take preventative measures.  Taking steps to prevent work related stress can help to:

• Make employees feel healthier, happier and mor valued
• Improve productivity and staff retention
• Reduce the number of disputes that happen at work
• Reduce absence levels
• Make the workplace less toxic and more positive

Stress legislation

There are two main pieces of legislation that relate to workplace stress:

• The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 

These regulations place a duty of care on employers to protect the health and safety of their workers, which includes protecting them from stress.

Additionally, employers should ensure that they are following safe systems of work, including the law on working time rules called the Working Time Regulations 1998. Working long hours, not taking regular rest breaks and not having an adequate number of hours off between shift can cause work related stress or can make stress worse.

Workplace stress in unavoidable, however, if stress in chronic or an employee is clearly not coping, employers have a duty to put in a series of preventative measures and controls that protect workers from harm.