The two previous articles highlighted some of the main causes and effects of work-related stress. This week we turn to the question of how to deal with these issues within a workplace management framework. Research has shown work-related stress to have adverse effects for organisations in terms of:

• Employee commitment to work
• Staff performance and productivity
• Staff turnover and intention to leave
• Attendance levels
• Staff recruitment and retention
• Customer satisfaction
• Organisational image and reputation
• Potential litigation

By taking action to tackle the causes of stress in the workplace, the impact of these problems can be reduced and sometimes even eliminated.

Employers have duties to protect employees against harm caused by work-related stress. Legislation does not mention stress specifically, but it does impose a duty on employers to safeguard the health and safety of employees.

This basic duty is set out in the Occupational Health and Safety Authority Act 2000. Stress is a hazard to health, both mental and physical health, and is therefore one of the issues that employers are expected to deal with. It is a good idea to set out the company's aims and objectives regarding work-related stress in the health and safety policy.

Success in dealing with work-related stress depends very much on both senior management commitment and worker involvement throughout the process. Staff are only likely to take part in such an initiative if senior management commitment to tackling work-related stress has been clearly demonstrated to them.

Employers therefore need to get employees and their representatives on board and take the following actions:

• Involve employee representatives at the beginning of the process.

• Involve employees and their representatives in any groups that are set up to take the work forward.

• If it is decided to confine one's efforts to a limited section of the organisation, consider how best to inform other employees.

Work-related stress is just another workplace hazard, and as such it should be subjected to risk assessment using a process such as this:

Step 1 - Identify the hazards

A good starting point in identifying hazards is to examine the six 'management standards' developed by the UK's Health and Safety Executive. These standards relate to six key work-related factors that can generate stress hazards (stressors):

• Demands - includes issues like workload, work patterns and the work environment.

• Control - how much say the person has in the way they do their work.

• Support - includes the encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues.

• Relationships - includes promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour.

• Role - the extent to which people understand their role within the organisation and how the organisation ensures that they do not have conflicting roles.

• Change - how organisational change (large or small) is managed and communicated within the organisation.

Employers might also check sickness and absence records to identify any trends that may be stress-related, and they might also carry out surveys of employees' opinions and feelings about work-related stress.

Step 2 - Decide who might be harmed and how

Any employee can be at risk from work-related stress. Organisations may already be collecting information that can be used to obtain an initial broad indication of whether stress is a problem. For example:

• High levels of sickness absence may indicate a potential problem area. Checking the reasons given for absence may help identify the causes.

• Being open and honest about stress helps to reduce the perceived stigma and improve the reliability of the reasons staff give for absence.

• Low productivity can be an indicator of problems. Talking to employees should help you explore the reasons behind this.

• High employee turnover could be an indication of high stress levels. Investigate why people are leaving - conducting exit interviews is one way of doing this.

• Performance appraisal could offer an opportunity to have a one-to-one discussion about work and to explore whether people are experiencing excessive pressure.

• Team meetings and focus groups can help to assess current performance.

Step 3 - Evaluate the risk and take action

There are a variety of internal and external sources of information that can help contribute to a general picture of the current risk for work-related stress in an organisation, and identify where the biggest problems seem to be.

When the initial information for the risk assessment has been collected (step 2), one should confirm one's findings, explore what this means locally, and discuss possible solutions using representative samples of the workforce.

Step 4 - Record the findings - make a plan and stick to it

It is important that the results of the risk assessment are recorded in an action plan. This will help maintain momentum and ensure that follow-up actions are taken. It will also provide a mechanism by which progress can be checked.

Step 5 - Monitor and review - measure and share success

Any actions taken to tackle stress should be reviewed after a period of time. This will allow feedback from those involved in the process and enable us to learn what worked and what did not work.

Recognising that work-related stress might be a problem, commiting to dealing with it and including stress in the general assessment of workplace risks are all part of the way forward. Organisations cannot ignore the causes and consequences of stress at work; the costs to the company and to the individuals affected are simply too great.

Mr Hudson is director of training and consultancy at the Institute of Health and Safety.