This month is Stress Awareness Month, a wellbeing campaign that raises public awareness of the causes and cures for our modern-day stress.
The month, which has been held every April since 1992, aims to prevent work-related stress and promote good mental health in the workplace. It is also a time when workers have an opportunity for an open conversation on the impact of stress.
Stress is something that can affect all of us and contributes to many illnesses, with more working days lost due to stress than for any other single reason. Statistics show there are around 828,000 cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety in Great Britain each year, with an estimated 17 million working days lost in 2022/23.
How employers should address stress at work:
Employers have a legal duty to protect workers from stress at work. This can be helped by ensuring they match demands to workers’ skills and knowledge, as workers often get stressed or when feeling underqualified or overwhelmed. Following HSE’s Management Standards approach will help identify and manage the main causes of stress at work.
It is the responsibility of employers to provide the appropriate planning, training and support to reduce pressure and bring stress levels down.
As well as a workplace hazard, stress is a topic that often crops up within HR. Generally, the earlier a problem is tackled, the less impact it will have. Addressing an employee’s stress at work should be a priority, and you should encourage them to talk to someone, whether that is to yourself, their line manager or a GP.
Having mental health first aiders amongst your workforce is a good way to provide works with the support needed which can help prevent stress. Individual action plans for workers suffering from stress can also be developed.
The theme for this year’s Stress Awareness Month is #ChooseHope. The feeling of having hope is vital in finding a way through challenging times. However, it is more than just a feeling as it inspires us to take action and have a personal responsibility to produce positive change.
Therefore, #ChooseHope is intended to create an opportunity for all of us to consider how we are going to do something to make things better and how to achieve that desired goal.
Action that you can take:
THSP’s online Stress Awareness & Management training has been designed for all levels of staff to complete in order to help them identify and prevent stress in the workplace. The course is suitable for all levels of staff including management and employers.
On the course, you will learn:
- How to identify stress in yourself and in others
- How to effectively reduce and prevent stress with positive steps
- Understand the mental and physical impact stress can have on an individual.
By completing this course, employers will be much more equipped to handle matters dealing with stress in the workplace. This will help to produce more positive figures concerning work-related stress and reduce the number of working days lost.
Book our Stress Awareness & Management eLearning course now for £25 per person and help prevent stress in the workplace.