Protecting employees from stress at work
03-10-2022
The Working Minds campaign has been created by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety and is committed to improving the health of workers.
Tackling stress isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a legal obligation. Working Minds can help you make it a routine priority for your business.
There are three main reasons employers should be looking to prevent stress and support good mental health in business:
- It’s the law
- It’s good for business
- It’s the right thing to do
Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, the law requires all employers to prevent work-related stress and support good mental health in the workplace.
It’s important to remember that in the end, we’re all just people. Every one of us faces pressures in and out of the workplace and by treating each other with respect and compassion at work, we support our teams and colleagues to stay well.
The earlier a problem is tackled, the less impact it will have on the person and your business. Stress affects people differently – what stresses one person may not affect another. Factors like skills, experience, age or disability may affect someone’s coping ability.
You can get started today with these 5 steps:
- Reach out and have conversations.
- Recognise the signs and causes of stress.
- Respond to any risks identified by agreeing on action points between employer and workers.
- Reflect on the actions taken – have things improved?
- Make it routine to check back in on how things are going.
If you think that a worker is having problems, encourage them to talk to someone, whether it’s their line manager, trade union representative, GP or their occupational health team.
See: Working Minds Employers – Work Right to keep Britain safe