Prevention of Violence to Staff Guidance

Croydon CouncilStress and Mental Health Guidance

Guidance in Relation to Stress and Mental Health

Introduction and Guidance in Relation to Mental Health

Good management of mental health in the workplace means good business. Everyone has mental health needs, a mentally healthy workplace and supportive work environment will benefit staff and the Council alike. Failure to deal effectively with mental health issues in the workplace will be costly for the Council and individual employees. The costs can be measured in terms of wasted talent, skills and human potential as well as high staff turnover and poor corporate image.

Addressing mental health problems in the workplace can bring benefits to the organisation such as reducing sickness absence and increasing skills mix amongst staff. It shows the Council’s commitment and openness to develop a culture that is more open and valuing, building staff confidence and the organisation’s ability to identify and support staff earlier. The aim is to break away from the traditional negative impression of mental health problems

The effects of work on mental health

Work has been shown to have a beneficial effect on mental health. People with mental health problems report that work is both a distraction from symptoms and a way of managing them. Work can provide a valuable structure to employees’ time, help avoid boredom, increase financial security, improve self-esteem and help in social interaction. Periods of ill-health decline when a person is at work. Life expectancy is increased in those who continue working.

Although work is largely positive it can also have a negative impact on mental health. Particular tasks can cause stress and unmanaged stress can exacerbate mental health conditions. Unrealistic workloads, lack of control over workload, poor management of change, high expectations, long hours, bullying and bad management can exacerbate mental health problems.

Mental Health Issues when Designing Jobs

Managers shall ensure that staff’s mental health is considered when jobs, accountabilities and locations are created and altered. Apart from legal obligations to make “reasonable adjustments”, job design, deadline pressures, difficult working hours or patterns, lack of clarity over roles and responsibilities, the need for extra support, as well as physical working conditions can all lead to stress and/or mental distress.

Job Control

Increased job control is associated with improved mental and physical health and decreased sickness absence. Low decision making opportunities when staff feel they have no say in the way the organisation is shaped and changed can lead to frustration and feeling insignificant.

Good practice includes, where possible:

• Ensuring there is task variety to avoid monotony, varying the daily tasks, encouraging secondments.
• As far as possible, allowing staff to have influence over decisions that are made at work at an individual, team and organisational level. Encouraging staff to use their initiative and take responsibility for their action. Provide opportunities for people to have choice over how they do their work, and to be involved in planning their working day.
• Trying to give staff some control over their working environment.
• Communicate with staff and where possible take views on board, particularly during periods of major organisational change, when the need for two-way dialogue is particularly important.

Job demands and workload

Perceived high work demands are associated with worse mental health. The higher the work demands- particularly in terms of time and resources to do the job – the more likely it is that people will find it difficult to manage, which may have an impact on mental health. Demands are at the right level when staff are able to cope with volume and complexity of their work. Employees will vary greatly in their ability to cope with various levels of work pressure. While strategies for controlling job demands may appear to reduce productivity in the short term, improving the mental health of employees will mean a more productive workforce in the longer term. (This also needs to be considered within a wider performance management context)

Good practice includes:

• Increasing managers’ sense of control and support – targeting management first.
• Reviewing work demands and staffing regularly e.g. in 1 to 1’s. Managers should conduct workload assessments and find out how people perceive their workload. Information then needs to be fed back to inform future staffing arrangements. Providing staff with regular positive feedback.
• Encouraging application of Worksmart and encouraging staff not to work long hours, while maintaining flexibility, actively moving away from the ‘long hours’ culture.
• Encouraging staff to take their annual leave through out the year. This should be built into planning, and staff should not be made to feel guilty for taking annual leave.
• When planning tasks, consider what ability individuals have and ensure people have the resources to do the job, both in terms of physical resources and skills such as adequate knowledge and training.
• Ensuring people have time to take regular breaks.
• Ensuring that staff have enough to do.
• As far as possible, deadline pressures should be reasonable. Trying to avoid giving staff tasks to complete at short notice.
• Providing training to improve individual responsibility. The confidence to act and take responsibility improves wellbeing.

Job role

Job roles should describe why individual staff are undertaking their work and how it fits in with the organisation’s aims and objectives.

Good practice includes:

• Ensuring staff have clear, detailed and accurate job descriptions.
• Roles are clearly defined and responsibilities are explained to staff.
• Providing new staff with a thorough induction to the organisation and their role within it.
• Providing thorough training in effective methods of working for all staff, especially when there are policy and practice changes.
• Roles between agencies or staff members, for example in multi-disciplinary teams, need to be clear to everyone.
• Encouraging colleagues to bring to the attention of management genuine concerns about a member of staff’s state of health.

Mental Health in the Context of Dignity at Work Programme

Harassment, racism and bullying are major causes of distress at work, and people who are known to have mental health problems may find themselves targets of such behaviour. Managers should be aware of mental health issues in anti-bullying or dignity at work initiatives

Identifying Mental Health Issues

A pattern of uncharacteristic behaviour that continues for some time MAY indicate an underlying mental health problem. Managers and staff need to be aware and sensitive to a colleague who consistently shows any of the following changes, and intervene appropriately:

• Absenteeism;
• A significant change in mood;
• An unusual deterioration in their standard of work, reduced productivity, poor decisions or indecision;
• Poor morale or lack of co-operation;
• Uncharacteristic mistakes;
• Frequent complaints of tiredness, aches and pains;
• Alcohol or drug misuse

Confidentiality

Confidentiality must be respected at all times. A supervisor or line manager will need to know if a particular employee requires some sort of adjustment In most cases they do not need to know the diagnosis or other personal information, unless the member of staff wants to disclose this. Exceptions to this may occasionally occur if the health and safety of others or indeed the staff member might be compromised. If adjustments are being made, the manager should discuss with the employee how these are communicated to other staff.1

Critical Incident Debriefing

• Put together a clear factual understanding of what happened
• Discuss impressions, reactions and feelings
• Receive information on their current and future feelings
• Know how to access further help if they need it

The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

The EAP Is available to support total well-being 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) offers comprehensive online resources, confidential telephone-based and face to face support. There is no need for individuals to seek permission from their line manager to use this service.

When individuals log on to the Workplace Options website, they will have immediate access to an abundance of tools, articles, tips, links, and searchable databases to help with the issues that matter to them. The service can be accessed at work or at home – at an individuals convenience

Workplace Options also provides a crisis intervention and debriefing service to both individual staff members and teams when serious incidents occur. This service can be accessed via the Freephone number below.

To access the benefits of your EAP website, follow these three easy steps:

1. Log on to
2. Click on “Member Login”
3. Enter your username and password;

username: Croydon

password: Employee

Website features include instant messaging with an information specialist or counsellor, webinars covering different topics each month, tools to help individuals manage personal finances and a virtual space for those with caring responsibilities to share information and a learning centre to help solve work and home challenges.

Freephone 0800 243 458 to speak to an advisor.

Email

Counselling

Counselling can improve or maintain mental health and may prevent mental and/or physical ill-health. It encourages individuals to take responsibility for solving their own problems in a constructive way.

Counselling is not suitable for all individuals. Managers should refer staff to Occupational Health for an assessment as to whether counselling is appropriate. If counselling is appropriate, the employee will be referred to an external counsellor, qualified in the appropriate type of counselling. As far as possible, the employee’s needs regarding the counsellor will be taken into account (e.g. male/female, etc.)

Training and Information

Training is central to any strategy to address mental health problems at work. It can add to managers’ understanding and awareness and so help them deal with problems.

Good practice includes:

• Bringing this policy to the attention of new staff during induction.
• Ensuring existing staff attend awareness sessions to ensure they understand mental health issues at work and their individual responsibilities in respect of this and related policies.
• Providing specific training for managers on risk and protective factors for mental health in the workplace and their role in identifying problems.
• Providing access to appropriate information, should be provided in the form of leaflets, promotional displays and directories of counselling and support services.

Recruitment

Having experienced a mental health problem does not mean that someone cannot be a valued member of staff, working efficiently and contributing positively to the workforce.

If the issue of mental health does arise during the recruitment process, it may be appropriate at the interview to ask the person if they require any kind of adjustment or support, both during the recruitment process and in order to do the job as specified.

Managers should not:

• Ask for information about the specific diagnosis, treatment, the history of the illness or any information that is not relevant to the work situation;
• Assume that a person with a mental health problem will be more vulnerable to workplace stress than any other employee

Introduction and Guidance Relating to Stress.

There is no such thing as a ‘pressure-free’ job. Every job brings about its own set of tasks, responsibilities and day to day problems, and the pressures and demands these place on staff are an unavoidable part of working life. Some pressures can, in fact, be a good thing and help in motivating staff and giving a sense of achievement and job satisfaction. Excessive pressure can lead to stress and poor performance.

Stress is the reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed upon them. It arises when they are unable to cope. This reaction is more likely when people have insufficient control over their situation and inadequate support in coping with them. Work stress is that which arises as a result of, or is aggravated by, work

This guidance is intended to assist managers to appropriately assess the risks associated with work related stress and to make necessary changes to better support employees who may experience work related stress and to better manager workplace stressors

Effects of Stress to an individual

Some signs of stress are listed below. However, experiencing any of these does not necessarily give an immediate indication of stress and further advice should be sought from HR, or Occupational Health when concerns are raised.

• Persistent or recurrent mood – 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 – increased absence levels, difficulty concentrating or remembering things, inability to switch off, loss of creativity, making more errors, double checking everything, eating disorders, covering up, lying, increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs.

Prolonged exposure to the possible symptoms of stress is associated with serious chronic disease such as heart disease, back pain, gastrointestinal problems, anxiety or depression.

Effects of stress on the organisation

If key employees or a significant number of employees are affected by stress at work, this may affect the health and performance of the Council. Organisationally relevant effects include undesirable changes in:

Commitment to work;

Absenteeism;

Employee turnover and intention to leave;

Staff recruitment;

Performance and productivity;

Safe working practices and accident rates;

Quality of service provision;

The Council’s corporate image;

Incidence of litigation.

Potential Causes of work related stress.

Causation is often difficult to establish as people respond to different types of pressure in different ways. Much may also depend on the pressures which employees are experiencing outside work in their home and personal lives. Although these factors are beyond managers’ control, managers should want to be aware of them as they may make employees more vulnerable to stress at work. Likely causes of stress at work are:

• Unpleasant tasks

• Monotonous, under-stimulating or meaningless tasks

• Lack of control of workload and work pace

• Having too much or too little to do

• Working under time pressures

• Inflexible working schedules

• Long, unsociable or unpredictable hours

• Poorly designed shift systems

• Poor communication and poor leadership

• Lack of clarity about organisational objectives and structure

• Lack of participation in decision making

• Lack of control in decision making/forward planning (for example, over work methods, work pace or work environment)

• Conflicting demands

• Interpersonal relationships with colleagues

• Inadequate, inconsiderate or unsupported supervision

• Bullying, harassment and violence

• Isolated or solitary work

• No agreed procedures for dealing with problems or complaints

• Job insecurity

• Lack of promotion prospects, under promotion or over promotion

• Lack of recognition

• Piece-rate payment schemes

• Unclear or unfair performance evaluation systems

• Being over-skilled or under-skilled for the job

• Unclear role or conflicting roles

• Lack of direction

• Lack of understanding and leadership from managers

• Responsibility for other people

• Continuously dealing with other people and their problems

• Home-work interface

• Conflicting demands of work and home

• Lack of support for work problems at home, and home problems at work

• Excessive noise, heat, humidity or vibration

• Presence of toxic or dangerous substances

What signs should Managers be aware of?

Managers should be aware of the following possible signs:

• Increase 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 or customers
• Attitude and behaviour – Loss of motivation or commitment, Poor time keeping, working longer hours but with diminishing effectiveness

Where Managers have concerns they should be discreet but discuss these with the individual concerned and try to identify further actions required.

Support Mechanisms for Managers and Employees Relating to Stress

The following support mechanisms are available to offer support and assist with the implementation of this policy:

• Occupational Health service – To provide advice and guidance on the impact of stress and the steps the individual or council can take to improve situations. (Note: A stress risk assessment must be completed prior to the OHS referral)
• Counselling Service – A confidential counselling service is available for both telephone and face to face counselling this can be arranged via occupational health
• Human Resources – Can provide advice to Managers and employees on issues relating to work place stress
• Health and Safety Consultancy – Can provide advice and guidance to employees and managers on issues relating to risk assessment, and ways to minimise or eliminate risk. They can also provide guidance on potential stressors e.g physical or environmental factors.
• Unions – To provide advice and representation to union members.

Management Investigation of Reported Stress