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.