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Transcript
00:00
Workplace stress is becoming increasingly common
00:03
but it’s something many of us often keep quiet
00:06
or don’t know what to do about
00:07
or even where to turn for help.
00:10
What you might not know is that your employer is legally required to help you
00:14
if work stress has become an issue in your life.
00:17
An employer has a duty of care to their employees to ensure that there is a safe working environment
00:22
and that includes in relation to minimising the risk of stress
00:26
and stress-related illnesses.
00:27
There are a lot of things that employers can do to try and manage stress in the workplace.
00:32
One of the first things they might want to do is to
00:34
conduct a stress audit to find out what is causing employees stress
00:38
and they could even do that on an anonymous basis
00:40
so that employees feel free to be frank in their answers.
00:43
It’s also important then to look at things like patterns of sickness absence
00:47
and return to work interviews can be very helpful
00:50
for trying to find out what the underlying cause of absence may be
00:53
because we know that employees don’t always report stress as the reason that they’re out sick.
00:58
Employers should have a stress policy
01:00
that makes it very clear to employees
01:03
that they should raise concerns if they’re stressed and how to do so.
01:06
So that, really, there is a culture of being open about this kind of issue
01:09
and it is communicated to everybody.
01:11
Crucially, then training managers
01:13
to identify situations that cause stress
01:17
and can give rise to stress and what the symptoms of stress in their employees are
01:22
so that they can help to manage that too.
01:24
Workers and employees have a right to take time off when they’re sick
01:27
and that can include if they are sick by reason of stress,
01:29
but it’s really more about what can an employee do when they’re in this situation
01:34
in order to raise concerns with their employer
01:37
and I would say in that scenario it’s important to raise your concerns early
01:41
rather than suffer in silence
01:43
because what I’ve seen in my work is a lot of employees who struggle on
01:47
in difficult circumstances and it gets to the point where they’re at breakdown
01:50
or they’re diagnosed with a serious depressive illness.
01:53
It’s important to speak out, whatever is happening,
01:55
and to try and raise your concerns often informally at an early stage.
01:59
So, you can speak to your line manager
02:01
if the line manager doesn’t want to take action or is the cause the problem, perhaps,
02:05
then do speak to HR, talk to your union rep or other employee rep.
02:09
You can seek advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau,
02:13
or indeed ACAS, or you can seek specialist legal advice from an employment lawyer.
02:18
We know that workers in the UK do some of the longest working hours across Europe.
02:23
Stress does seem to be a particular issue in this workplace culture.
02:26
There are other countries where, for example,
02:29
an employee can call in sick and say they’re having a Mental Health Day
02:33
and that’s recognised and it’s taken seriously
02:36
because it’s recognised by an employer that being open about your concerns
02:39
and sometimes just taking some time out
02:41
is going to be more beneficial to an employee and, therefore, to the employer,
02:45
its morale and productivity
02:47
than soldiering on in a difficult situation.
02:49
For more information people should go to our website
02:52
Slatergordon.co.uk
