Managing workplace stress is in everyone’s interest
The Minister for Labour Affairs, Dara Calleary TD, today (Tuesday 5th May 2009) said that workers that are experiencing long-term excessive stress in the workplace will be less productive and more likely to be absent from work than those that are not. He was speaking at the ‘Work Positive’ seminar organised by the Health and Safety Authority.
Minister Calleary stated: “Stress management is an area of workplace health and safety that we need to have a greater focus on. Stress is a fact of life, whether that be in the workplace or outside of work, and we all experience some form of stress from time to time. However, excessive stress which goes unaddressed can lead to serious health problems for individuals. When it comes to workplaces, employers need to recognise the signs and it is in their interest to know how to deal with them.”
Minister Calleary continued: “The clear message from today’s event is that intervention procedures for staff showing signs of stress related difficulties can prevent it from becoming a major health issue for workers. As with most health problems, preventing it in the first place is always the best course of action.”
Martin O’Halloran, Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority, said that he hoped to see a risk management approach to workplace stress used more widely: “The ‘Work Positive’ process provides many benefits for employers and employees. Stress related illnesses can be very serious and just as debilitating for individuals as a bad physical accident,” he stated, “so it’s obviously in the interest of everyone to deal with it effectively.”
Mr. O’Halloran added: “Stress is part of everyday life and is certainly a fact of workplace life. The aim for employers should be to ensure that, at a minimum, workplace activities are not unduly contributing to overall stress levels.”
‘Work Positive’ is a comprehensive risk management process that helps organisations identify and manage the major causal factors associated with workplace stress. It was originally developed by the Health and Safety Authority with Health Scotland to help organisations identify the potential causes of stress at work in line with requirements to prevent accidents and illness at work. The keynote address at the seminar was made by Professor Michael Leiter from Acadia University in Canada. Professor Leiter works with organisations internationally to help them enhance relationships, encourage engagement and prevent burnout.
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For further information please contact Mark Ryan Press & Communications Officer Health and Safety Authority (01) 6147068 / (086) 8036141.
Notes to Editors
Work Positive
Work Positive is a comprehensive risk management process that incorporates a risk assessment covering the major causal factors associated with workplace stress. It was originally developed by Health Scotland and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA, Ireland) to help organisations identify the potential causes of stress at work
Work Positive was launched in 2002 and a revised edition again in May 2005 and is the only state sponsored stress audit tool of its kind available across Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.
The tool is concerned with weighing up, in some form of measurement, the perception among staff through a survey of what they judge to be levels of exposure to six defined aspects of the workplace. As it is not, for instance, a risk assessment for the carriage of dangerous goods, or for slips, trips and falls, it is concerned with risks from the interaction between the person and the workplace which could result in distress or mental health issues. Work Positive is thus a measurement tool for assessing the source of and possible levels of exposure of employees to six psychosocial hazards.
The tool itself is more than just the survey - it is a process. It involves giving out a questionnaire (the shortened 35 item questionnaire) to all employees to be filled-in on a confidential, voluntary basis. The collating of all responses gives a profile – at that point in time – of the organisation, based on the employees’ perceptions.
The six items questioned are: demand, control, support (Manager and peer), relationships, role and change. These have been chosen based on current research findings which suggest that where work-related stress is concerned, causal factors are associated, mainly, with these aspects of the work environment.
Workplace Stress
Stress can be broadly defined as the negative reactions people have to aspects of their environment. Work-related stress simply refers to those reactions due to pressures within the working environment.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, requires employers to put in place systems of work which protect employees from hazards which could lead to mental or physical ill-health. There is also an obligation on employers to draw up a written risk assessment of all known hazards, including psychosocial hazards, which might lead to stress.
The Central Statistics Office, Ireland reports that 13,000 people in the Republic of Ireland suffer from stress, depression and anxiety. Also, the Department of Social and Family Affairs states that 1.7% of all occupational injury benefit claims allowed in the Republic of Ireland in 2006 related to stress.
There are certain work practices which have a marked effect on general stress levels, like bullying, for instance, or sexual harassment, job insecurity due to the fast pace of change, increased levels of responsibility without increased authority, lack of training, and/or certain patterns of shift work. These are some causes of work-related stress but the list is not exhaustive.
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Last modified: 05/05/2009
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