What do we mean
by 'stress' and 'mental health conditions'?
Stress
A useful definition of work-related stress is provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work”.A certain level of pressure in a business environment is desirable. Pressure helps to motivate people and will boost their energy and productivity levels . But when the pressure people face exceeds their ability to cope with it, it becomes a negative rather than a positive force – in other words, stress. Employees can also experience stress when too few demands are made on them. People can feel stressed when they are bored, under-valued or under- stimulated. Stress is not a medical condition but research shows that prolonged exposure to stress is linked to psychological conditions such as anxiety and depression.
In many cases there is a complex inter-relationship between the pressures people face at work and at home. For example, someone suffering from bereavement or a relationship breakdown may be temporarily unable to cope with a workload they normally find quite manageable. As an employer you should support employees who are struggling to cope for whatever reason. Your attitude can have an impact on employee’s attendance, behaviour and/or performance.
The effect of pressure on any employee will be influenced by a variety of factors including support systems at home and work, personality and coping mechanisms. What may be too much pressure for one person at a specific time may not be for the same person at a different time or for another person.
While this resource focuses on mental health conditions rather than ‘stress’, the way you manage staff who may be experiencing pressures at home and/or at work will have
a significant impact on their resilience and mental health. Where line managers have the appropriate people management skills, employees with mental health conditions are more likely to cope with their condition and juggle competing pressures.
What you can do to support your staff
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Management Standards use a risk assessment process to help organisations identify the extent and causes of employees’ work-related stress and suggest ways that everyone in the organisation can work together to find ways of preventing and managing stress more effectively.The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Investors in People have also developed a stress management competency framework for line managers. It sets out the key behaviours to help managers mitigate and manage stress at work and helps them identify their strengths and areas for improvement. The guidance is free to download from: www.cipd.co.uk/guides
The interactive tool is available from the HSE website: www.hse.gov.uk/stress
If you would like more advice and help on managing employees who are stressed, including using the HSE’s Management Standards to tackle stress, see the HSE website: www.hse.gov.uk/stress
Mental health conditions
Terminology is important. What may be appropriate language for clinicians may be less helpful for employers or job seekers. For the purposes of this Resource, we generally use the phrase “mental health conditions” to describe all mental illnesses.We have not adopted the term mental health problems as we do not want to suggest to employers and others that mental health conditions are always problematic in the context of employment. Having a mental health condition and experiencing well-being at work are compatible.
Where employees who have lifelong, long-term or fluctuating conditions experience an acute phase which may require absence from work for treatment or recuperation, we refer to them as ill or unwell.
Many more people experience symptoms of distress, such as sleeplessness, irritability or poor concentration, loss of or increased appetite, drinking more alcohol without having a diagnosable mental health condition. Sometimes these symptoms can lead to mental health conditions, or be part of having a mental health condition such as anxiety and/or depression. The key differences are in the severity and duration of the symptoms and the impact they have on everyday life.
Mental health conditions include those with greater prevalence, such as depression and anxiety, as well those that are far less common such as schizophrenia or psychosis.
Usually, a general practitioner (GP) will be involved in diagnosis and in offering treatment in the form of medication, talking therapies, self-help suggestions such as the importance of staying active and physical exercise, or a combination of all three.
A clinical diagnosis does not necessarily indicate what a person can or cannot do. Also the way in which someone experiences and copes with their mental health condition and the level of support needed will vary from person to person.
Everyone should have the opportunity to work whether or not they have a mental health condition. Mental health conditions are common and most of us will either experience one or know someone who has experienced one. Mental health conditions touch us all and should not be a barrier to treating people fairly and with respect.
As a manager it is most helpful to try to understand an employee’s problems or issues and work on the basis of the person’s strengths and capabilities. The approach will be to talk to the employee, get a clear understanding of what they can do, rather than what they can’t do.
Information on the most common mental health conditions and advice on what to look out for when considering a person’s well-being can be found at www.shift.org.uk/employers
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