Stress Compensation Claims
At the end of 2004, The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched a new approach to help employers work with their staff to manage the risks associated with work-related stress. The toolkit and standards were designed to help organisations meet their duty of care to their employees and their duty to assess the risk of work-related stress.
Workplace stress has received a plethora of media exposure in recent years. It has also been the subject of a number of largescale research projects aimed at assessing the extent of the apparent problem.
What is stress?
The HSE defines stress as ‘the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them’. Pressure is an essential part of all work and helps to keep us motivated. However, when this pressure reaches high levels it can make employees ill and undermine their performance.
What are the causes of work related stress?
Stress can be a major problem and can affect anyone. The conditions which may lead to stress include:
- Too much, or too little work to do
- Boring or repetitive work
- Role confusion
- Lack of control
- Lack of communication
- Blame culture
- Lack of support for individuals to develop their skills
- Inflexible work schedules
- Poor working relationships with other members of staff
- Bullying, racial or sexual harassment
- Physical danger (such as risk of violence)
- Poor working conditions (such as noise)
What are the effects of stress at work?
Of course, over short periods, stress is perfectly healthy, and virtually everyone can cope with it in small doses. However, over a prolonged period, stress can bring about major problems such as heart disease and stroke. Although some people appear to enjoy stress, for others, the outcomes can be devastating. One piece of Scottish research found that heart attacks were more likely to occur on a Monday than on any other day of the week. Some of the other consequences of stress can include:
- The development of stomach ulcers and increased blood pressure
- Over-indulgence in unhealthy habits, such as overeating, smoking and drinking
- Insomnia, which in turn can decrease performance at work, and increase the level of stress experienced.
- Depression
Stress can also affect a woman's ability to conceive. A recent study which found high levels of the stress hormone cortisol in women whose periods had either stopped or were wildly irregular.