The Chief Executive is aware that a lot of time and effort is being put into the Company’s bid to win a National Award for Excellence that will really put the Company on the map! He is keen to ensure that the employee’s work / life balance is addressed and wants to reduce the risk of employees going off work with work related stress. He has requested some guidance / advice on steps that can be taken to address these concerns.
 
It is positive that the Chief Executive has identified this as a potential issue and wants to take steps to ensure that employees are not impacted by stress. Stress is a complex issue and is not dealt with in Northern Ireland under a single piece of legislation. A combination of sources including Health and Safety legislation, Discrimination legislation, and statutes such as the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 provide the legal framework and set out the responsibilities and duties of employers in relation to their employees and dealing with stress.

Failure to address the risk of stress and to manage the potential effects may not only result in the Company receiving stress related claims, but is likely to lead to an unproductive, demoralised workforce. There are a number of ways that the Company can approach these issues:

One of the most obvious steps is having a clear, accessible, Stress in the Workplace policy. Whilst having a policy will not of itself be sufficient to ensure that the Company is taking all reasonable steps to deal with stress, it is a good starting point. It makes it clear to employees that the Company takes the matter seriously and should hopefully encourage employees to speak to a Manager if they are struggling.

In addition to having the policy, all Managers should be trained on how to recognise stress and also situations that may cause stress. Symptoms of stress are known to include uncharacteristic errors, reduced social contact, over-reaction to problems, lack of holiday planning and increased time at work. Training on these types of stress indicators will help
Managers deal with the realities of stress in the workplace and to address the problem at an early stage.

A transparent, consistent, return to work and review procedure should be put in place following absences from work and performance appraisals. This will assist with identifying potential stress related reasons for a drop in performance or absences.

The culture of the Company is often a key factor in whether employees are likely to be impacted by stress. Line Managers should, where possible, avoid making unreasonable demands on employees by ensuring that duties are delegated appropriately and workloads are prioritised.

Finally (although of course this is not an exhaustive list), it is advisable to provide support for employees through an employee assistance programme, occupational health service or providing independent confi dential counselling. Whilst the above steps will help with the identification of stress issues and hopefully with reducing the impact of stress on the Company they will also assist the Company with defending any stress related claims as they show that reasonable efforts are being taken to address the issues.