Step 2 - Decide who might be harmed and how

All employees could suffer from work-related stress, but they could also be part of the solution

Before you begin Step 2, you should have completed Checkpoint 1 - Getting started look for the hazards:

• Read and understood the Management Standards.
• Secured senior management commitment to tackling stress.
• Involved employees and employee representatives in taking the work forward.
• Informed employees of the latest developments and plans for next steps.
• Recorded what you have done.

Your organisation may already collect information that can be used to obtain an initial broad indication of whether stress is a problem for your organisation. For example:

• High levels of sickness absence may indicate a potential problem area. Checking the reasons given for absence may help identify the cause.
• Being open and honest about stress helps to reduce the perceived stigma and improve the reliability of the reasons staff give for absence.
• Low productivity can be an indicator of problems. Talking to employees should help you explore the reasons behind this.
• High employee turnover could be an indication of high stress levels. Investigate why people are leaving – conducting exit interviews is one way of doing this.
• Performance appraisal could offer an opportunity to have a one-to-one discussion about work and to explore whether people in your team are experiencing excessive pressure.
• Team meetings and focus groups can help you assess current performance. They allow you to explore issues in considerable depth and are particularly useful if you want to find out what specific groups of people think about their work. Further information on how to run a focus group is available at the end of this section.

Conducting a survey

HSE Management Standards includes an Indicator Tool [45kb] that can be distributed to all employees. It is made up of 35 items that ask about “working conditions” that are known to be potentials for work-related stress. These working conditions correspond to the six stressors of the Management Standards. The employee answers according to how they feel these aspects of their work are for them.

• Indicator tool in other languages

All responses can then be compiled into HSE’s Analysis Tool [2MB] . The Analysis Tool computes an average figure for each of the six Management Standards for your workforce, or particular part of your workforce.

The HSE Analysis Tool has been upgraded and improved in response to user feedback.

• We suggest you use the new version to analyse your results
• You can import results from earlier versions directly into this version
• The manuals have been updated to show you how to do this

The validity of self-report and questionnaire based surveys is often called into question because they are dependent on how people “feel” about issues. However, evidence suggests that individual perceptions play an important role in predicting stress-related ill health. Therefore, gathering the opinions of employees can be a useful indicator of the health of your organisation, and as a part of an overall strategy to identify and address potential sources of stress.

Briefly, the HSE Analysis Tool gives an average result for each of the six stressor areas, and these are graphically displayed alongside a target figure. Your ultimate aim is to be in the top 20% of organisations in tackling work-related stress as currently assessed by HSE (in 2004). If an organisation is currently not achieving the benchmark figure, then an interim figure is also given as a stepping stone towards improvement. That is, HSE supports continuous improvement in stress management.

• General tips on using the Indicator and Analysis tools
• How to communicate the results of the survey

Using your own surveys

Using existing surveys could give you an idea of how the organisation measures up against the Standards.

• Can you put the questions into each of the six Management Standard areas (eg which questions are about Demands)?
• What do the data tell you about employee views?
• Does this indicate that there may be problems in one or more of the six areas or in certain parts of the organisation?
• If so, use this information together with other data you may have to judge how well you match up against the Standards
• Consult with employees and their representatives to confirm your assessment.
• Work together to develop solutions to tackle any problems.

“Toolbox talks”

In units with relatively few employees, it may be more appropriate to explore issues related to working conditions in small groups in the first instance. You may already have arrangements in place for encouraging participation and consulting with employees. For example, routine “toolbox talks” when work is planned, can be an opportunity to inquire about potentially stressful issues with workers. Similarly, managers planning meetings can be used to explore potential stressors for this group of staff.

Whatever means you use to assess the risk of stress, you should not rely on just one measure of information, but consider data they have from several sources. In particular, try to avoid using questionnaires in isolation. The next section of will help you to confirm any findings with staff, consult with them to further explore the broad problems, and work with them to develop solutions.

Checkpoint 2: Decide who might be harmed and how

Before you begin the next stage, you should have done the following:

• Acknowledged that stress has the potential to affect any member of staff
• Considered the data available to you to indicate any potential problem areas
• Measured your performance against the Management Standards
• Identified any stress “hot-spots” in your organisation
• Recorded what you have done

Next: Step 3 - Evaluate the risk and take action