Most causes are fairly obvious, such as excessively high workloads, unmanageable deadlines, poor employee relations, poor company communication, weak managers and clashing priorities where, for example, a member of staff is given several tasks by different managers, with each one pushed as a priority.

 

Many of these will only lead to short-term stress; however, any major issues, such as bullying or harassment, will create long-term stress and have a far bigger impact on the employee's overall productivity.

 

To check for causes of stress, it is necessary to carry out a form of audit. As with all audits, if you know what you are looking for before you start, the process should be fairly straightforward. Imagine all potential causes of stress (many of which are listed above) and then work through the company to check whether any may exist in your own working environment. Encourage staff comments on how things could be improved as this will help identify many common causes of stress.

Stressed employees are likely to be over-tired, irritable, suffer from general aches and pains and start taking more sick days. An increase in the frequency of arguments between staff and a high staff turnover rate are indicative of more endemic problems.

 

The same criteria can be used to judge your own stress levels. If you feel that your performance is starting to slip or that you are losing interest in your work, there is a fair chance that this is due to stress. Tackle the problem as early as possible.

Having carried out your audit, or at least taken time to observe potential causes of stress, you should be in a position to take action. The process can be as simple as identifying the problem and taking corrective action. For example, allowing regular breaks, providing more realistic deadlines, and ensuring adequate training and resources. Ensure that all staff are aware of why a change is happening and agree a system for implementing this change.

 

The other main approach is to seek to use the audit as a chance to stop problems before they even arise. For instance, jobs should be well-matched to employees' skills, roles and targets should be specific and achievable.

 

Finally, keep staff informed as to how the business is performing. Even if you are going through hard times, it is probably better to tell the staff so they can at least have a clear picture and can react accordingly, rather than waste energy trying to guess the situation. And, of course, you should also be sensitive to external causes of stress. Employees going through personal problems, relationship difficulties or family crises are unlikely to be concentrating on their work.

 

You can download an example company stress policy from the Health & Safety Executive website.