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Boiling Point
Our resident management consultant, John Berry, outlines how managers can help to prevent stress levels rocketing out of control at work.
Workplace stress is much discussed but seldom described suffi ciently to ensure managers understand their role. With appropriate tools, managers can successfully deal with employees who are affected by stress. This article takes a systems approach to develop a model. The model can be used with existing advice from the Health and Safety Executive to take control of instances of workplace stress.
First, we need to deconstruct workplace stress and understand each component. There are fi ve primary variables in a case of stress: employee, manager, environment, work done and outcome.
The work done is an input to the stress system, or a ‘stressor’. Stress is the body’s reaction to this. If the whole system were this straightforward, the permanent solution would be to reduce workload. The system is not that simple, however.
When it comes to stress in a work scenario, there are three possible outcomes. The employee might succumb to a debilitating illness like heightened blood pressure (a physiological symptom). Or, they might be consumed by negative thoughts and beliefs (a psychological symptom). Or, of course, they might just be able to cope.
The effects of the employee, their manager and their environment can be described as what the Health and Safety Executive calls ‘management standards’. In essence, these are moderating variables — things that change the outcomes for given inputs.
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The model is completed by considering that these moderating variables change the relationship between input and outcome. They can shift the outcome from debilitating illness to coping. It is important for managers to understand these standards and the impact they can have.
1
Job Demands Employees are described by
their competencies. If they lack the competencies needed to perform, stress will result. Managers must determine if the employee has the competencies and if not they must train, mentor or coach.
2 3
No Role Clarity It’s important that employees
know what they are being asked to do. Unfortunately, some jobs are just messy, with employees being asked to pick up a huge diversity of confusing activities. Managers must streamline tasks.
Inability To Control Events Research shows that employees
cope better when they are able to control events. Constantly being driven can move an outcome from coping to stress. Managers must re-design jobs to give employees as much control as is reasonable.
4 5
Strained Personal Relationships If the employee doesn’t get on with
their colleagues and relationships are strained, stress may result. In this case, managers should re-structure teams and intervene to build mutual support.
Continual Change Employees need to be able to
master their job. Unfortunately, if the job is constantly changing, there is no
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opportunity for mastery and workers can become stressed. To counter this, management must slow the rate of change and allow people to perfect the job at hand.
6
Poor Management Support Employees who are left to struggle
on their own exhibit stress more often than those whose managers support them day-to-day. Managers should ensure that every employee has a trained manager available to provide meaningful support.
Stress is a complex syndrome. It’s easy to claim ‘work overload’, but that fails to explain why some employees cope while others succumb. To understand how to manage employees suffering stress, managers must understand the system that causes it.
Before managers blame the employee, there’s much they can do to effect change and ultimately help employees to cope. If, however, after all reasonable change has been made, the employee is still suffering and continually absent, it may be time to retire them due to ill-health.
Overall, when managing stress, what matters is management action. Stress will not go away. It will just get worse until the employee quits, or the fi rm is taken to tribunal for unfair or constructive dismissal and disability discrimination is cited. Dismissal and discrimination are costly options that can be avoided by managers who help employees to cope at work.
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