Home Page Survey Form EU Research on Work-related stress Page updated 29 Aug 2001
Stress in the Workplace
Notes from a briefing on 31 May 2001 by Dr Bill Mitchell Clinical Psychologist
The briefing covered three areas:
1. Misunderstandings
Stress versus Pressure. We all work best with a degree of stress and under varying levels of pressure. They are not in themselves bad things. Managers need to consider if a pressure (e.g. by change to working hours) may be more difficult for some individuals to cope with than it will be for others (e.g. taking or collecting children from school). Changes for good business reasons may have significant impact on the human resource (e.g. the work - home balance).
2. People who normally cope
We have all developed "coping strategies" that help us to keep an optimum balance so that we are able to rest well, leave work behind in the office, be at one with life and keep our emotions in equilibrium.
As pressure increases we may become subject to mood swings and a drop in our energy level - quite often this is more obvious at home in a "safe" environment.
We can all go in and out of equilibrium and can function under extreme pressure, however we may experience the final straw that results in sudden illness. The illness can exhibit both psychological and physical symptoms. In two thirds of such cases the individual has not shown previous symptoms.
When we are ill we often call or visit our GP. Often the GP is too busy to give you enough time to help him diagnose the problem. The result is often a certificate for three weeks off work to rest. In too many cases the three weeks becomes months or a year. Referral to an expert at an early stage is important.
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Stress - physical effects (we may feel too embarrassed to talk |
Pre-clinical effects (moving away from equilibrium |
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Headaches Skin rashes and eczema Eye strain Cardiac symptoms Gut disorders Hyperventilation Back discomfort Muscle spasms Immune system Neurotransmitters |
Tired Irritable Preoccupied Sleep disturbance Overwhelmed by work Harder to reach decisions Feeling out of control Increasingly anxious - low in mood - depressed |
Some examples of pressure are:
We are all individuals:
Perfectionists
Friction between commitment to colleagues and managers
Internal pressure to succeed
Different coping strategies
Journey to work - train problems may disrupt normal work/home schedule
How well do I understand my own coping strategies & therefore those of others?
3. What can managers do to help?
The Occupational Health Unit and Staff Counsellor can be used to provide an initial contact point for staff who are showing signs of stress or for managers who are uncertain of what to do.
An automatic referral of all absences of 4 days or over can provide a safety net to help prevention of work related stress. It should not be used without human input. We need to be sensitive to individual circumstances but we should also be alert to unusual patterns of illness amongst our staff.
There could be automatic referral of under-performance or relationship problems to the OHU.
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Coping Buffers |
Key areas |
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Supportiveness |
Need for support and able to accept help |
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Life Style |
Give time to areas outside work that are gratifying and enjoyable |
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Control / Avoid ratio |
Being able to confront problems rather than avoid them |
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Cognitive Mechanisms |
Inner conversation (threatening verses optimistic) |
Our "Inner Dialogue" is a cognitive mechanism that we use to make sense out of our experiences. This can be helped by management support but without support it can be catastrophic. Staff may come to a very pessimistic and negative conclusion if they do not understand the managerial message.
Once staff are off work for long periods their "sense of self" and "who they are" can go. Work is highly therapeutic and it is therefore very difficult to get back into the work routine if sense of self has been destroyed.
Staff need a supportive environment and should not become isolated. The "coping buffers" need to be supported by management
It is recommended that
When asking staff to perform a task, a good management technique is a "project check":
Managers need to be trained to make work a more positive environment.
Try to make work a place of fun rather than anxiety.
We need to allow staff a line around their job and to allow flexibility in how individuals work.
Allow time for extra discussion - make more time for those who need a personal discussion.
Are working hours under the person's control are they enforced?
Think about the effect of change on the staff involved. (e.g. Does a change of starting or finishing have an impact on their commitment to care for children or other dependants?) Some individuals may find the change much more difficult than others - how can their needs be accommodated?