Work Related Stress
By Mark Reddy 2007
Acknowledgement and Extracts from the WHO Website
All employers
should carefully consider the systems that they have in place for assessing,
preventing and otherwise managing work stress you must be aware of your
organization’s systems and resources for managing stress.
Internal resources
may include occupational health services, human resource management
(personnel), training departments or other individuals with responsibility for
staff well-being and health. Individual problems which are complex, difficult
and not manageable internally are best dealt with by a counselling
psychologist, clinical psychologist, counsellor, or an occupational physician
who may consult with a general practitioner or other specialist functions as
deemed necessary. Identification of any groups at risk within your organization
is crucial and should accompany the examination of available organizational
resources for managing work stress.
Good practice in implementing interventions to
Improve mental health at the workplace should:
·
include
an early detection (early warning)
System;
·
involve
the participants in the whole project
Management;
·
be
integrated into management philosophy;
·
include
different levels of interventions, i.e.
the
individual, the social environment and working
conditions.
·
Confidential
Occupational support services: Experienced and qualified Psychotherapists and
Psychologists providing therapeutic intervention and support
The Medical implications of employee assistance
programme’s written by G. G. Lloyd, Y. Doyle+ and C. Grange shows that studies of minor psychiatric disorders in
working populations indicate a prevalence of between 270 and 370 per 1,000
employees. Most of these disorders are believed to arise as a result of
excessive stress either in personal life or at work. These conditions are an important determinant
of sickness absence, and are the second most common cause of absences lasting
more than 21 days. Work effectiveness and staff turnover are also affected and
the economic cost to industry is enormous.
There
are three models of service: internal, external and a combination of the two.
The internal arrangement can use knowledge of the organization's dynamics to
enable changes in working practices which will modify an employee's
psychological problems. In one organization, 25% of all referrals to the EAP
were made by managers. However, such models are frequently perceived to lack
independence and confidentiality which are important elements of a successful
service. “Therefore it is vital to
assure employees that the internal service is confidential with the power to
inform and support change” Reddy. M. (2005)
Work-related stress is the response people
may have when presented with work demands and pressures that are not matched to
their knowledge and abilities and which challenge their ability to cope.
Stress occurs in a
wide range of work circumstances but is often made worse when employees feel
they have little support from supervisors and colleagues and where they have
little control over work or how they can cope with its demands and pressures.
A healthy job is
likely to be one where the pressures on employees are
appropriate in
relation to their abilities and resources, to the amount of
control they have
over their work, and to the support they receive from
people who matter
to them. As health is not merely the absence of disease
or infirmity but a
positive state of complete physical, mental and social
well-being (WHO,
1986), a healthy working environment is one in which
there is not only
an absence of harmful conditions but an abundance of
health promoting
ones.
These may include
continuous assessment of risks to health, the
provision of
appropriate information and training on health issues and
the availability
of health promoting organizational support practices
and structures. A healthy work environment is one in which
staff have
made health and health promotion a priority and part
of their working
lives. Having an effective Occupational Support
service ensures this provision is supplied on the ground to all that need it.
The way we design
jobs and working systems, and the way we manage them, can cause work stress. Excessive
and otherwise unmanageable demands and pressures can be caused by poor work
design, poor management and unsatisfactory working conditions. Similarly, these
things can result in workers not receiving sufficient support from others or
not having enough control over their work and its pressures.
Research findings show that the most stressful type of
work is that which
values excessive demands and pressures that are not
matched to workers’ knowledge and abilities, where there is little opportunity
to exercise any
choice or control, and where there is little support
from others.
The more the
demands and pressures of work are matched to the knowledge
and abilities of
workers, the less likely they are to experience work stress. The more support
workers receive from others at work, or in relation to
work, the less
likely they are to experience work stress.
Statistics Taken from the UK
- The
2006/07 survey of Self-reported Work-related Illness (SWI06/07) prevalence
estimate indicated that around 420 000 individuals in
- The 2007
Psychosocial Working Conditions (PWC) survey indicated that around 13.6%
of all working individuals thought their job was very or extremely
stressful.
- The
annual incidence of work-related mental health problems in
- Estimates
from SWI06/07 indicate that self-reported work-related stress, depression
or anxiety account for an estimated 13.8 million reported lost working
days per year in
- Survey
data suggest the incidence rate of self-reported work-related stress,
depression or anxiety in 2006/07 is of a similar order to that in 2001/02.
There had been a fall between 2004/05 and 2005/06, but this was followed
by a rise back to the previous level in 2006/07. Both changes were
statistically significant. THOR surveillance data shows a mixed picture
with a falling trend in psychiatrist reports of work-related mental health
between 1999 and 2006 but with occupational physician reports rising
between 1999 and 2001 and then remaining steady. The ONS omnibus survey
shows an overall downward trend in the proportion of people saying their
job was very or extremely stressful between 2004 and 2006, leveling off in
2007.
- Occupation
and industry groups containing teachers and nurses, along with
professional and managerial groups particularly those in the public sector
have high prevalence rates of work-related stress in the SWI and SHAW
surveys. The THOR datasets SOSMI and OPRA also report high incident rates
of work-related mental illness for these occupational groups, along with
medical practitioners and those in public sector security based
occupations such as police officers, prison officers, and
Mental
health legislation - a necessary requirement
General
principles for mental health legislation to protect the rights of the mentally
ill include:
Respect
for individuals and their social, cultural, ethnic, religious and philosophical
values. Individuals' needs taken fully into
account. Individual's need for health and social care must be assessed
thoroughly. In particular, it is important to ensure that the views of an
individual (and his or her carers) are considered. For this to happen there
must be close liaison between health, housing and social care services.
Care
and treatment provided in the least restrictive environment. In order to uphold this principle, legislation should be framed so
that involuntary (formal) hospital admission is a last resort. This can be
achieved through: clearly defined grounds for detention; procedural safeguards
when the power to detain is used; an obligation to discharge when grounds for
detention are no longer met; an independent review of the decision to detain.
Provision
of care and treatment aimed at promoting each individual's self- determination
and personal responsibility. It is vital that
individuals are given the opportunity to exercise choice and make decisions
about their own care and treatment. Legislation should aim to ensure that:
treatment can be imposed only in strictly limited and clearly defined
circumstances and must be the least restrictive alternative; where individuals
are unable to make decisions for themselves, steps are taken to find out their
wishes and feelings; clear information on treatment and detention is readily
available; appropriate provisions for confidentiality are in force.
Provision
of care and treatment aimed at achieving the individual's own highest
attainable level of health and well-being. In
addition, to issues of quality and continuity of care, this principle addresses
the question of a "right" to treatment. It can also cover more
general issues such as the requirement that the individual should be cared for
properly in a safe environment and subject only to restrictions for reasons of
his or her health or safety, or the safety of others. In this regard: there
should be no restrictions on an individual's contact with friends and family,
except in rare and clearly defined circumstances; stringent safeguards from
abuse, exploitation and neglect should be in place.
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