Managing stress in the NHS workforce

Managing stress in the NHS

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The best cure for work-related stress is for employees to take personal ownership of the problem, explains Robert Wilcox

With the cost of living continuing to rise and companies' futures not as solid as they once were, employees would be forgiven for feeling stressed. Mounting workloads and tight deadlines aside, there are many factors that can lead to ill-health as a result of occupational stress.

It falls on the affected employee and employer to tackle these issues together.

Commonly misdiagnosed or overlooked, stress is difficult to define. For example, when does pressure, which can contribute to the productivity and personal growth of some employees, develop into stress? It is also vital to identify what turns a healthy, demanding work environment into one that harms the well-being of staff.

Finding solutions 

The key to addressing stress is not to medicalise and therefore generalise the issue, as it cannot be diagnosed or cured using standard medicines or treatments. Organisations employing occupational stress advisers or therapists may simply be widening the problem and making it something bigger than it actually is.

The best cure for stress is for employees to take personal ownership of the problem. They should identify the situation and communicate it to their managers.

Culture of care 

However, some employees may become so stressed that their perception and attention become clouded. This may make them reluctant to raise the issue for fear of having their claim discounted or being penalised. To avoid this, businesses must develop a culture of care, where issues such as stress and ill-health can be discussed in confidence and addressed swiftly and effectively.

But it might be difficult to create such a culture in a business with a distributed workforce, such as remote workers, where employees are rarely in contact with managers. These organisations must ensure they maintain a high standard of stress management across all sites, with sufficient flexibility to accommodate local factors.

Control and stress

Control plays a pivotal role in managing stress. Workers who are bored, feel trapped in their job or cannot keep on top of their duties may feel that they lack control. These problems can only be addressed if the worker takes control over them. However, there are several instances where self-control may prove ineffective, such as bullying, disputes with colleagues or disagreements with senior personnel. Such problems must be reported to an appropriate manager.

Occupational stress affects many employees at some stage in their working lives. Only by working together with staff can employers create an environment of reduced stress to meet the needs of employees. Similarly, workers must be prepared to take ownership of their stress and come forward to work with managers to improve the situation.