Editorial
Managing Stress in the Workplace
September 2003
Sheila Pantry OBE
Stress-related illness can be costly to companies in terms of lost productivity, sickness absence and ill-health retirement. Management practices that are good for the health of the employees are likely to be good for their productivity. Good management policy is therefore in the interests both of the organisation and the workers.
Managing stress in the workplace requires that both employers and employees together should tackle the many problems in this area including nature of stress, identifying workplace stressors, bullying at work, effects of stress on the individual, trauma and coping with the aftermath of a critical incident.
As always risk assessment of jobs on a continuous basis is essential if organisations are to maintain a healthy and safer working environment. Recently the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched a pilot project to help tackle stress in the workplace. The project, which has been place on the HSE website www.hse.gov.uk/stress encourages all sizes and types of companies to get involved by evaluating how they are working in relation to a draft version of a document entitled Management standards for stress. The good news here, is that any feedback from the project will be incorporated when the systems is formally developed for launch next year in 2004.
OSHWORLD links to many organisations with authoritative and validated information on stress. Go to the subject links provided.
A book Managing Stress in the Workplace by Carole Spiers (ISBN 07545 1269 X) has just been published and the author draws upon her substantial experience in the field of stress management to provide an indispensable manager's guide, which covers identifying stress, stress management and intervention techniques. As well as containing useful checklists, best practice guidelines and case studies throughout, it explains the significance of the new UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Guidance Notes and provides worked examples of formulating a stress policy and what constitutes best practice. Contact the publishers Tolleys - Reed Elsevier (UK) Ltd | Email: customer.services@lexisnexis.co.uk | www.lexisnexis.co.uk
Don't forget to check out the conferences, seminars and training workshops in OSHWORLD's Diary of Events and make sure that you get your booking in for EurOhse2003!
The European Commission's (EC) paper "Adapting to change in work and society: a new Community Strategy on Health and Safety at work 2002-2006" forms the basis for the EurOhse2003 conference www.eurohse2003.com to be held in London, UK on the 4th and 5th November 2003.
This is the most important conference for health, safety and environmental professionals in 2003! Be part of the future plans for the ever widening occupational safety, health in Europe. Invest in two days to listen, learn, discuss and network. Bookings are already being made - don't be too late making yours or you may be disappointed!
For further details contact: Mary Meadows, Office and Logistics Manage, European Occupational Health and Safety Magazine (EurOhs), Angel Business Communications Ltd, 34 Warwick Road, Kenilworth CV8 1HE, Warwickshire, UK | Tel: +44 (0)1926 512424 | Fax: + 44 (0)1926 512948 | email: mary@angelbc.co.uk | www.eurohse2003.com
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Remember to look at the Products and Services on this web site and see what is new and updated, such as Fire Worldwide which has attracted users not only from the UK but around the world. The guidance, advice, and the information in the legislation will help all those achieve a safer workplace. Over 2000 pages of full text has recently been added to the latest edition, plus thousands of new records in the bibliographic databases. See for yourself and take a free 30 trial - either via the Internet on CD-ROM. Contact Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd, UK | Tel: +44 (0)1909 771024 | Fax: +44 (0)1909 772829 | E-mail: sp@sheilapantry.com
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Hope you have a zero accident and incident-free year in 2003 in your workplace.