| 1.
Stress: A Definition 1.1
Statement of Recognition The
Greencore Group recognise that ‘stress’ is an everyday part of business life
but that it needs to be managed effectively. As
a Company we need to ensure that the health and well being of employees
is
not adversely affected by their work or working environment. 1.2
Understanding Stress All
work has its pressures.
We all vary in our capacity to cope with different
types of pressure.
Some pressure, even when high, can be motivating and a
challenge.
Pressures that we can respond to effectively are likely to lead
to job satisfaction.
However, pressures at a level we cannot cope with,
even in some cases too little pressure or challenge,
are likely to result
in stress for the individual. This
document is concerned with the negative aspects of stress. 1.3
What is Stress? ‘Stress’
is an individual matter,
what constitutes stress for one individual, may
well not be stress for another.
Essentially stress is what we experience
when we cannot cope
with the pressures and demands placed upon us. 1.4
Scope of Policy Whilst
the scope of this policy is to cover work place induced stress,
the Company
does recognise that sources external to work
may be a significant factor in
causing stress for people.
When identifying and dealing with stress the Company
shall endeavour,
if the individual is willing to discuss these matters. 2.
Signs and causes of Stress 2.1
Possible signs of Stress - Persistent
or recurrent moods –
anger, irritability, detachment, worry, depression,
guilt, and sadness. - Physical
sensations/effects –
aches and pains, raised heart rate, increased sweating,
dizziness,
blurred vision, skin or sleep disorders. - Changed
behaviours –
difficulty concentrating or remembering things, unable to switch
off, loss of creativity, making more errors, double checking everything, loss
of interest in sex, eating disorders, increasing use of tobacco, alcohol, coffee,
drugs. When
stress is experienced over long periods other signs can develop,
for example,
high blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers, anxiety, long term depression. 2.2
Possible causes of Stress Be
aware of the following signs: - Increases
in overall sickness absence – particularly frequent short absences
- Poor
work performance – less output, lower quality, poor decision making
- Relationships
at work – conflict between colleagues, poor relationships with clients
- Staff
attitude and behaviour – loss of motivation or commitment, poor timekeeping,
working longer hours but with diminishing effectiveness
3.
Responsibility 3.1
Self Awareness If
you believe you are suffering from stress
or are struggling with your work
based duties
then try to contact your manager to discuss the issues with him/her.
If this is not possible then individuals should be aware of who they can turn
to.
Whilst the Company will make every effort to help employees,
often
the first step must come from the individual. Colleague
and Managerial support Managers
have a particular responsibility to be aware of the legal duty as an employer
and also to be aware of how to recognise early signs of stress in their employees.
It is important for the success of this policy that managers play an active role
in its implementation. The responsibilities include: - To
observe and evaluate work performance
- To
provide information on the policy and where possible help individuals
to overcome
their problems before job performance is affected - To
become familiar with this policy,
to attend any stress management training
that is available - To
ensure that absences which may have been caused by stress
are acted upon sympathetically
and with understanding - To
ensure that the Trigger System is not used to handle absences caused by stress
All
employees and colleagues of those affected by stress, have similar responsibilities
as above. To enable the Company to provide a good working environment it is essential
that all employees act with sensitivity and tact when dealing with individuals
either they suspect of suffering from stress, or who have been diagnosed. 3.3
Occupational Health and HR The
occupational health resource on site will have information available regarding
stress.
The occupational health person will be able to provide further support
and if necessary arrange for outside counselling. 3.4
Health & Safety It
will be health and safety’s responsibility to include an analysis of stress/health
risks within the overall audit of a site. This information must be kept up-to-date
and should be available to interested and relevant parties within the Company. 4.
Action Points 4.1
Implementation of the policy In
order to ensure the implementation of the policy, the Company shall endeavour
to provide relevant training and/or access to relevant information regarding stress.
4.2
Impact on day-to-day activities In
order to ensure that the correct identification of potential stress issues occurs,
the following areas must include an element related to ‘stress management’. The
HR department, the Health & Safety Officer and the Occupational Health Officer
will provide support for these actions. 4.21
Recruitment & Selection - The
full range of tasks and demands of the job should be set out clearly
in the
job description and should be fully discussed in the interview process.
Areas
of potential pressure should be identified. - All
references must seek information about candidates’ sickness and absence records.
- For
posts where it is recognised that a higher than normal level of pressure and stress
exists, candidates’ tolerance to stress should become a more important factor
in the selection process. Psychometric testing should be used where appropriate.
4.2.2
Pre-employment health screening - Greencore
Group is a food manufacturer and as such must ensure that no person takes up employment
before a health questionnaire has been completed.
- The
Company recognises that whilst a pre-employment health screening could be discriminatory
and bar those with a history of stress related problems from employment, Greencore
Group will use the process in a positive manner. The use of the information will
be used to ensure that people are matched to the requirements of the job and that
the Company can identify any support, if any, that the person will need to perform
effectively in that job.
- Where
in the initial screening process, a potential stress difficulty has been identified
and the individual has been employed, the Health and Safety, and Occupational
Health Service should enquire about the wellbeing and progress of the employee
at regular intervals. This would be on a confidential basis.
4.2.3
Induction and Promotion - All
new employees must receive induction into their jobs. Starting a new job can be
a stressful time and a planned induction should help eliminate any concerns.
- Within
the induction programme, the stress policy (along with other employee requirements
and Company requirements) should be discussed.
4.2.4
Absence Management - Managers
and supervisors must ensure that all employees’ absences are recorded.
- As
part of regular supervision processes all absences in the preceding period should
be discussed with the employee and underlying reasons identified.
- Managers
should arrange to talk with or visit any absent employee within five working days
of the first day of their absence to discuss any underlying causes and to arrange
support and assistance if the absence is likely to continue.
- Managers
should consider making reference to the Occupational Health Officers, Human Resources
or Health & Safety (and/or Trade Union representative if appropriate) if an
employee’s absence continues beyond ten working days.
4.2.5
Return to Work after absence - After
the employee returns to work managers should continue to meet them to discuss
their recovery and the factors which may have contributed to the stress. Meetings
may be required more frequently than would be normal under the agreed planned
supervision system.
4.2.6
Training & Development - Many
employees experience stress through feeling that they are not adequately trained
for their existing job and especially when they move into a new or a changed role.
The identification...
5
Specific Help 5.2
Self Help Your
manager and/or occupational health officer will be able to provide you with relevant
information if you request it. A self analysis form will also be made available
following agreement with your manager or occupational health officer. 5.2
Getting Help Most
of us get help informally from family and colleagues, but sometimes we may need
to talk to someone who is outside the situation. If you are feeling under stress,
it is better not to wait for the problem to build up but to talk to someone straight
away. A number of options are available to you. - If
it is a work problem or a home problem affecting your work discuss it with your
manager/supervisor. You may use the regular supervision sessions which you have,
but you may need to make a special appointment. Your manager will then know the
situation and treat the matter in confidence wherever possible.
On occasions
your manager/supervisor may recommend the involvement of the HR contact or Occupational
Health Officer. - If
you do not wish to approach your manager you may contact your HR Officer or Occupational
Health Officer direct.
- If
you are experiencing harassment at work, or have been involved in a stressful
incident it is beneficial to talk through the occurrence within 72 hours of the
event. Please either speak to your manager, HR officer or Occupational Health
Officer.
- If
you belong to a Trade Union they may be able to help provide help and advice.
Action
Plan: - For
sites who want to implement this stress policy they must make an undertaking to
provide information and training for (at least) the senior management, to enable
the policy and responsibilities to be clearly defined and rolled down.
- Sites
must ensure that a stress element is included within the health & safety audit
and that it is supported by the correct documentation.
- The
sickness and absence procedures must include a recognition of stress as a viable
reason for any absence. The precise details of how the information is collated
should be left to individual sites and should be specific to their individual
procedures.
- How
the information and support services are then co-ordinated is the decision of
the individual site and should be related to specific site circumstances. However,
the procedures must be supported by health & safety and must be adequate to
cover all levels of employee.
- The
content of the stress policy must be communicated to all employees either through
specific briefings or as an amendment to a company handbook/health & safety
policies.
- Greencore
Group currently engage the services of Maggie Smith as an external advisor.
Other agencies can be used, however we would recommend that stress counsellors
and trainers are only drawn from the approved list of Greencore Group consultants.
This enables the company to maintain a uniform approach across the business to
stress management.
Bibliography: Briner,
R. "Against the Grain", People Management, IPD, London,
September
1999, Vol 5, Issue 19. Cooper,
C. Theories of Organisational Stress, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998.
Newton, T. Managing Stress: Emotion & Power at Work, Sage Publications, London,
1995. Managing
Best Practice. Managing Stress, Industrial Society, London, 1995 |
