Prepared by: Amjad H. Al Ata

What is Stress?

Stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them. There is a clear distinction between pressure, which can be a motivating factor, and stress, which can occur when this pressure becomes excessive.

What are the symptoms of stress? Work-related stress can manifest itself as physical and emotional health problems, and as altered ways of behaving at work and at home.

Physical symptoms of stress: Examples of stress physical symptoms are: Increased susceptibility to colds and other infections; Headache; Muscular tension; Backache and neck-ache; Excessive tiredness; Difficulty sleeping; Digestive problems; Raised heart rate; Increased sweating; Lower sex drive; Skin rashes; Blurred vision;

Emotional & behavioral symptoms of stress: Examples of stress emotional & behavioral symptoms are: Wanting to cry much of the time; Feeling that you can't cope; Short temperedness at work and at home; Feeling that you've achieved nothing at the end of the day; Eating when you're not hungry; Losing your appetite; Smoking and drinking to get you through the day; Inability to plan, concentrate and control work; Getting less work done; Poor relationships with colleagues or clients; Loss of motivation and commitment;

Why do we need to tackle stress? Statistics (UK): About 1 in 5 people say that they find their work either very or extremely stressful. Over half a million people report experiencing work-related stress at a level they believe has actually made them ill. Each case of stress-related ill health leads to an average of 29 working days lost. A total of 13.4 million working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety in Work-related stress costs society between £3.7 billion and £3.8 billion a year.

Why do we need to tackle stress? When stress goes The productivity will go AND The sickness absence will go

What are stress causes? The primary causes of stress are (Stressors): 1. Demand (workload, work patterns and the work environment); 2. Control (how much say the person has in the way he/she does his/her work); 3. Support (encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided); 4. Relationship (conflict and dealing with unacceptable behavior); 5. Role (identified, understood, no conflict); 6. Change (Management & communication of organizational change);

The stressors in detail: (1) Demand: The standards for the demand stressor are: - Employees indicate that they are able to cope with the demands of their jobs; - Systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns. States to be achieved: 1. The company provides employees with adequate and achievable demands in relation to the agreed hours of work; 2. People’s skills and abilities are matched to the job demands; 3. Jobs are designed to be within the capabilities of employees; 4. Employees’ concerns about their work environment are addressed.

The stressors in detail: (2) Control: The standards for the control stressor are: - Employees indicate that they are able to have a say about the way they do their work; and - Systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns. States to be achieved: 1. Where possible, employees have control over their pace of work; 2. Employees are encouraged to use their skills and initiative to do their work; 3. Where possible, employees are encouraged to develop new skills to help them undertake new and challenging pieces of work; 4. The company encourages employees to develop their skills; 5. Employees have a say over when breaks can be taken; 6. Employees are consulted over their work patterns.

The stressors in detail: (3) Support: The standards for the support stressor are: - Employees indicate that they receive adequate information and support from their colleagues and superiors; and - systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns. States to be achieved: 1. The company has policies and procedures to adequately support employees; 2. Systems are in place to enable and encourage managers to support their staff; 3. Systems are in place to enable and encourage employees to support their colleagues; 4. Employees know what support is available and how and when to access it; 5. Employees know how to access the required resources to do their job; 6. employees receive regular and constructive feedback.

The stressors in detail: (4) Relationships: The standards for the relationship stressor are: - Employees indicate that they are not subjected to unacceptable behaviors, eg bullying at work; and - Systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns. States to be achieved: 1. The company promotes positive behaviors at work to avoid conflict and ensure fairness; 2. Employees share information relevant to their work; 3. The company has agreed policies and procedures to prevent or resolve unacceptable behavior; 4. Systems are in place to enable and encourage managers to deal with unacceptable behavior; 5. Systems are in place to enable and encourage employees to report unacceptable behavior.

The stressors in detail: (5) Role: The standards for the role stressor are: - Employees indicate that they understand their role and responsibilities; - Systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns. States to be achieved: 1. The company ensures that, as far as possible, the different requirements it places upon employees are compatible; 2. The company provides information to enable employees to understand their role and responsibilities; 3. The company ensures that, as far as possible, the requirements it places upon employees are clear; 4. Systems are in place to enable employees to raise concerns about any uncertainties or conflicts they have in their role and responsibilities.

The stressors in detail: (6) Change: The standards for the change stressor are: - Employees indicate that the organisation engages them frequently when undergoing an organizational change; - Systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns. States to be achieved: 1. The company provides employees with timely information to enable them to understand the reasons for proposed changes; 2. The company ensures adequate employee consultation on changes and provides opportunities for employees to influence proposals; 3. Employees are aware of the probable impact of any changes to their jobs. If necessary, employees are given training to support any changes in their jobs; 4. Employees are aware of timetables for changes; 5. Employees have access to relevant support during changes.

How can we assess the stress risk? The work-related stress can be assessed by using specific questionnaire (HSE) which containing number of questions that cover the six stressors. After the data of the questionnaire been collected, it has to be analyzed by using specific analysis tool (HSE) which will produce the current status of the company against a predefined standard status. Also the analysis tool will produce intermediate objectives which should be met if required.

What else? The standard also gives us guidelines about the sample size based on the number of employees

STRESS ! The Point of non-return!

Links  HSE (UK) - Stress Micro-site:  Management Standards for Work-related Stress (HSE/UK):  Free Leaflets (HSE/UK):  Working with Stress Video – NOISH(USE):