How to Manage Psychological Stress in the Workplace

Marshel Rozario - RRC International

The physical health and safety of workers has been an ever-increasing priority for UK construction since the Factories Act of 1833. But when we start our working day, our psychological health is also on the line. Marshel Rozario, RRC Internationalconsultant, explains why psychological health and safety should be a priority for construction firms, and how to set up a system to help manage psychological wellbeing in the workplace. 

Machinery, heavy loads, stress, all of these things pose a significant health and safety risk on construction sites across the UK. To an extent, physical health and safety is intuitive, but we’re less familiar with our psychological needs. According to HSE, 17 million working days are lost every year  to work-related stress, depression or anxiety, Further to this, a study from the Mental Health Foundation and LSE found that mental health problems cost the UK £118 billion every year, the equivalent to 5% of the UK’s total GDP.

Clearly, then, there are savings to be made and overheads to be cut with well-thought-out psychological health and safety provisions. The difficulty is, there is no simple policy or risk assessment that will manage psychological wellbeing in the workplace for you. Instead, you need training, a long-term commitment, and continuous improvement to manage it effectively. 

The starting point is to acknowledge the importance of psychological wellbeing at work, and learn the typical triggers for stress. This is easy enough, common stressors fall into six broad categories; demands, controls, support, relationships, role, and change.

Within those categories, there’s things like workload and intensity, workplace environment and culture, working relationships, role clarity, work values conflicting with personal beliefs, career development, organisational change, isolation and exclusion, external pressures, and, of course, work/life balance. 

You also need to be mindful, as an organisation, that stressors impact people in different ways. People have different levels of stress tolerance, they have different limits, and stress management techniques. The impact and behaviours can be very different too, and our circumstances can make us more or less at risk of stress. 

For example, vulnerable workers, workers with disabilities, older workers, younger workers, and new and expectant parents, are all at greater risk of workplace stress. Gender is also a factor… 

Beyond acknowledging the existence and triggers of workplace stress, you need training to help you develop a mechanism of support for workers. 

Relevant NEBOSH health and safety courses include the HSE Certificate in Managing Stress at Work, and Working with Wellbeing

Make sure your policy statement on the subject has real weight to it and is practical in tackling stress, and appoint a steering group that can help you continually improve and reinvigorate your efforts. Then identify the specific risk factors at your organisation.

In the short-term, prioritise quick wins, assign long-term actions, and communicate your plan internally. To properly manage psychological stress in the workplace you need to create an environment that prioritises open conversation. 

Protecting the psychological wellbeing of your workforce will protect your organisation. It’s not simple, but it’s well worth the effort. 

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