What are the Management Standards

What are the Management Standards for work related stress?

The Management Standards define the characteristics, or culture, of an organisation where the risks from work related stress are being effectively managed and controlled.

The Management Standards cover six key areas of work design that, if not properly managed, are associated with poor health and well-being, lower productivity and increased sickness absence. In other words, the six Management Standards cover the primary sources of stress at work. These are:

• Demands – this includes issues such as workload, work patterns and the work environment.
• Control – how much say the person has in the way they do their work.
• Support – this includes the encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues.
• Relationships – this includes promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour.
• Role – whether people understand their role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures that they do not have conflicting roles.
• Change – how organisational change (large or small) is managed and communicated in the organisation.

The Management Standards represent a set of conditions that, if present, reflect a high level of health well-being and organisational performance.

The Management Standards:

• demonstrate good practice through a step by step risk assessment approach;
• allow assessment of the current situation using surveys and other techniques;
• promote active discussion and working in partnership with employees to help decide on practical improvements that can be made;
• help simplify risk assessment for work related stress by:
  • identifying the main risk factors for work related stress;
  • helping employers focus on the underlying causes and their prevention; and
  • providing a yardstick by which organisations can gauge their performance in tackling the key causes of stress.