Stress in the Workplace
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Stress really mean?
Stress means a negative reaction to pressure, accompanied by fear of not coping, loss of control and lack of support. It is a physical and emotional experience and involves increases in blood pressure, hormone activity, digestive disturbance and sleep patterns. Thoughts are also affected and mood and behaviour changes considerably. Stressed people often don’t realise they are stressed, but those around them probably do.
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I am stressed from work can you go in and investigate?
No. There is no method for investigating stress on a par with investigating accidents. We don’t investigate the outcomes of workplace events anyway; we investigate physical aspects and administrative aspects of workplaces.
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How do I know if I am stressed?
Stress is a reaction to pressure and involves feelings, thoughts and behaviours as well as physical symptoms. It is a state of being and not an illness in itself. We all suffer from stress at certain times and know the feeling – it can be compared to panic, feelings of being over burdened to the extent that you cannot cope, feelings of disaster just around the corner. It involves behaviours that range from being irritable, cranky, angry, aggressive and hostile or certain people become withdrawn, fatigued, demoralised and depressed, depending on your personality type.
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If I think the stress is coming from a number of things, what can I do?
You have done the right thing so far in that you have stopped, taken a stand back and tried to identify where the stress is coming from. You have recognised that it is not a pleasant experience and decided that it is one you wish to control. That is all positive and part of good stress management. Now, take those aspects of life, which you have identified and see if any or all of them can be changed. Can you alter the relationship? Can you change the thing that you feel is causing you stress? If you can, go about it systematically and look for many ways around the problem, good stress management is about good problem solving. If you cannot alter the stressor, then can you alter your reaction to it? Can you do things differently in order to get a different outcome? Can you equip yourself with new and better skills and would that help? If it is work related, do you need training? Do you need support? Do you need to re-engineer some aspect of your job, and if so, can you discuss this with a manager/employer?
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How do I know if it is work-related stress?
If you have the symptoms of stress outlined above and are unsure why you are feeling this way, you need to reflect on your life and maybe for the first time try to diagnose where the stress or the pressure is coming from. Ask yourself the following questions and try to be honest with yourself
- Is this feeling coming from the environment at home?
- Is it coming from relationships?
- Is it coming from within yourself, or from memories which you find upsetting?
- Is it a recent event, which has caused this reaction in you?
- Have you felt this way before or is this a new feeling/experience for you?
- What else has changed in your life at the same time as the stress feelings began?
- Is it associated with work? If so, is it the job you do or some social aspect of the workplace itself?
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What aspects of jobs are usually thought to be stressful?
There are no specifically ‘stressful jobs’. What is stressful for one person may not be for another; it is the interaction of the person and the job, which must be looked at. These aspects of work have been found through research mainly since the 60’s, to be stressful for most people. Relations within the workplace, the role or roles a person has, supports or lack of them, the structures you work within, the culture of the organisation and the complexity of the tasks you do. As you will note, some of these are social in origin, although workplace-based and others are task-specific and to do with the type of work you do.
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What is the employer’s responsibility for work-related stress?
The employer has a general duty of care to all employees within the organisation in so far as is reasonable. That means that the employer must have a reasonable system of work, so that working there would not damage most people. Damage means physically or mentally injured or harmed. For stress, employers are entitled to expect that employees who take on jobs are equipped to perform the general duties of that job. Employers are entitled to expect their employees to handle pressure and master the work environment, once it is reasonable and ‘the norm’ for that category of work. Employers must abide by legislation and various regulations in terms of working time and office equipment and space as well as health and safety legislation in order to protect employee’s safety and well-being.
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Is there any specific laws relating to stress?
No, there is no specific law, but the courts have made rulings, which are then used as standards for what is reasonable. No employer can be expected to do anything about a stressed employee if he/she does not’t know about it, so it is important if you are suffering on- going stress, which you believe is caused by work, to bring this to the attention of the employer and try to work together to remedy the situation. Most employers will accept that a stressed employee needs assistance and support in order to be healthy and productive at work and so through consultation, alterations may be made to the work you do to alleviate the stress, at least in the short term, if not over the long term.
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I feel stressed – what should I do?
If you are feeling this way, then you may be stressed and should consider the many possible causes before jumping to any conclusions. Life events, which are extremely stressful, include good things as well as bad. Getting married for instance, is only slightly more stressful than getting divorce! So, it is the change, which can be stressful, even if the change is something you want. Bereavement is stressful, moving house is stressful and having money worries is stressful. A full list of scaled stressful life events can be accessed through Google Search Engine – input ‘Stressful Life Events’.
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I feel totally overcome by stress and cannot eat or sleep – what should I do?
If the situation has gone on for some time and you feel overcome, you need to take immediate and effective action as you may be at risk for stress-related illness. You should visit your GP if you are feeling so overcome that your functioning has totally disintegrated. There are various treatments for stress. Medication, short term or over the longer term can very effective. Therapy – cognitive, behavioural, or other forms of counselling related to the type of stress you are experiencing, and also lifestyle changes to include a more physically and mentally healthy way of living. Your GP may refer you to specialist psychological treatment or you could contact the Irish representative bodies for counselling and therapy directly. Their contact details are IACT 272 34 27. Website www.iacp.ie and PSI 01 671 7122. Other agencies to talk to in a crisis include the Samaritans 1850 60 90 90 and Victim Support 01 878 0870.
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What does the HSA do about Stress?
The HSA give information and advice to individuals and to groups on the topic and we advise and assist employers in putting in place a system for addressing and controlling stress. We also develop tools to be used to assess stress in organisation. Work Positive is one tool that informs employers and employees about Work-related Stress and also involves a questionnaire, which identifies where the main sources of stress are coming from within a company. It has been widely used in Irish organisations and will soon be used in the UK too. We have noted that one of the main causes of stress is bullying and we have in place best practice systems for dealing with bullying in order to minimise the stress that it causes.
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An absence from work that is stress related. Should this be reported to the Health and Safety Authority?
Stress is not reportable to the HSA. No illnesses are reportable and stress, not actually being an illness is not reportable. There is no duty on employers to report absences due to stress.
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What publication is available about Stress in the workplace?
The above publication is available from the HSA Publications Unit on 1890 289389 or the website www.hsa.ie.
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