Stress

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Stress guidelines from Canadian union CUPE submitted by Simon Pickvance — last modified 2010-03-03 16:38

Short manual on tackling stress for workers

Employment advice for people with mental health problems submitted by Simon Pickvance — last modified 2010-03-03 16:14

Basic leaflet on employment, covering helpful organisations, disclosure of mental health problems at work,etc

Mind - Understanding Anxiety submitted by WHIG Administrator — last modified 2010-02-26 12:11

Anxiety is something we all experience from time to time. Most people can relate to feeling tense, uncertain and, perhaps, fearful at the thought of sitting an exam, going into hospital, attending an interview or starting a new job. You may worry about feeling uncomfortable, appearing foolish or how successful you will be. In turn, these worries can affect your sleep, appetite and ability to concentrate. If everything goes well, the anxiety will go away.

Mind - Understanding Depression submitted by WHIG Administrator — last modified 2010-02-26 12:11

This booklet describes the symptoms of depression and the different kinds of treatment available. It suggests ways that people can help themselves, and what family and friends can do. It also tells you where to find further advice and information. If you are depressed, you may feel that nothing can help. But this is untrue. Deciding to do something is the most important step you can take. Most people recover from bouts of depression, and some even look back on it as a useful experience, which forced them to take stock of their lives and make changes in their lifestyle.

Mind - Legal briefing: Disability Discrimination Act submitted by WHIG Administrator — last modified 2010-02-26 12:11

By the 1990s it had become widely recognised that people with disabilities were facing discrimination. However, there was no legislation protecting their rights as there was for race and sex discrimination. Disabled people began a vigorous campaign for anti-discrimination legislation. This briefing looks at the DDA and shows where it applies to mental health.

Work-related stress submitted by WHIG Administrator — last modified 2010-02-26 19:07

Guide produced by Prospect trade union. The causes of stress, its effect on health, its symptoms, and employers' legal duties.

HSE - Tackling Work Related Stress submitted by WHIG Administrator — last modified 2010-02-26 19:06

Stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure. It isn’t a disease. But if stress is intense and goes on for some time, it can lead to mental and physical ill health (eg depression, nervous breakdown, heart disease). This guide offers practical advice on what managers can do to assess and prevent work-related stress.

Unison - Stress at Work submitted by WHIG Administrator — last modified 2010-02-26 19:06

Stress is very common. One in every five people say they are either very or extremely stressed at work. It is one of the biggest causes of ill-health in the workplace, making half a million people ill every year. This leaflet contains information about who it risk, myths about stress, the symptoms and effetcs, causes of stress and employers' legal duties.

HSE - Tackling Work Related Stress - A Guide for Employers submitted by WHIG Administrator — last modified 2010-02-26 19:06

Stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them. It can be caused by things at work or by things outside of work, or both. This leaflet is concerned with work-related stress: that is, stress that arises from, or is made worse by, work. Workrelated stress is not an illness, but it can lead to increased problems with ill health, if it is prolonged or particularly intense.

BUPA - Stress in the Workplace submitted by CatH — last modified 2010-02-26 19:05

This web page was published by BUPA's health information team. It describes the typical triggers of stress, the symptoms, and the possible solutions.

Danish Methods of Managing Stress submitted by Rowan Merewood — last modified 2010-02-26 22:36

How can we assess and manage stress at work ? While research into the causes of stress-related psychological and physical illness has progressed rapidly over the last ten years, employers, workers and enforcemnt agenices await techniques which are found acceptable to all. The recent consultation process conducted by HSE has parallels all over Europe. I recently visited a branch of the Danish Labour Inspectorate to find out what methods they use.

Managing Stress at Work: the underlying problem? submitted by Rowan Merewood — last modified 2010-02-26 22:36

The prime difficulty in reducing stress by regulatory means is that stress does not fit into the pattern of risk management which underlies most recent health and safety legislation. There is no simple means of assessing risk to a working population which does not also take account of the individual characteristics of the workers in that population. I don't see much prospect of the concept of risk being adapted to this problem. Stress is an ergonomic problem; i.e. concerned with the fit between individuals and their environment. It has the added complexity that as a cultural phenomenon what may be hazardous in the working environment at one time or to one workforce need not be hazardous at other times or to other workforces.

Sick notes and stress submitted by Rowan Merewood — last modified 2010-02-26 22:35

The sick note provided by GPs (the Med 3) is a small piece of paper but it’s role in managing stress at work should not be underestimated. The GP (or sometimes a hospital doctor) fills in a space marked : ‘Diagnosis of your disorder causing absence from work.’ In cases of work-related stress the diagnosis is often vague; nervous debility, or vital exhaustion, or non-specific; anxiety or depression.

Workload submitted by Rowan Merewood — last modified 2010-02-26 22:34

Work overload is the main cause of stress at work across Britain and that stress is the main health and safety concern in Britain’s workplaces, according to the Trade Union Congress.

Unison - Stress at Work submitted by WHIG Administrator — last modified 2010-02-26 17:16

Stress can be caused by a number of issues including long hours and shift work, lack of control, lack of job satisfaction, insecurity, fear of violence, bullying, bad relations with other work colleagues, problems with the working environment (such as noise, over-crowding and poor facilities), low pay, boredom and isolation. Stress can cause anxiety, depression, altered appetite, headaches, backache, difficulty in sleeping, and, over time, heart disease and ulcers.

LHC - Stress at Work submitted by WHIG Administrator — last modified 2010-02-26 14:32

Workers in the UK don't need to be told that work has got harder and become a pressure cooker for stress over recent years. Longer hours of work, low hourly rates of pay, under-staffing, bullying and job insecurity currently have some effect on most people's health. People at the lower end of the job hierarchy are, as ever, disproportionately affected. Insurers and solicitors are regularly holding seminars for employers on how to sack stressed workers before they become a financial burden or take out compensation claims. In this vicious climate Safety Representatives and trade unions must develop strategies to tackle this issue as members' health, jobs and careers are on the line. Stress is a health and safety issue not least because there is relevant legislation and case law, but it also involves broader employment, representational and collective bargaining issues.