Managing Stress At Work

YouGov has found that 33% of British workers believe their organisation is ineffective at managing work-related stress. The rising cost of living has also caused stress for 63% of employees. What can you do to help your employees?

Acas has launched advice for employers on managing stress. This advice states that you should be vigilant for signs of stress in your employees. Stress can manifest in many different ways, such as:

• poor concentration

• issues with decision-making

• irritability

• tearfulness

• tiredness

Once you have identified signs of stress in your employees, you should aim to be approachable and available for staff who may wish to discuss their levels of stress with you. If you are concerned about a specific employee, you should have an informal, non-judgmental and open conversation with them about their stress, what they are doing to manage it and if there is any way you can help.

You should also make sure that staff are aware of any internal or external help, for example, if staff are specifically stressed about the cost of living, do you offer financial advice?

In all conversations about the stress or mental health of your employees, you must be mindful of confidentiality and their privacy. Some employees may not be as open to talking about their mental health as others. You can still signpost the correct support to these employees without asking too much about their personal life if they do not wish to discuss it at work.