Mental Health in the Workplace: Tackling the effects of stress

Written by Dr Penny Gray

We wish to acknowledge the help and assistance of the Health and Safety Executive in producing this publication

Contents

Some facts

  • In a CBI survey of over 800 companies, 98% of respondents said they thought that the mental health of employees should be a company concern. More
  • Work-related stress is the biggest occupational health problem in the UK, after musculoskeletal disorders such as back problems. More
  • In a recent research survey of company line managers, just over three-quarters of those surveyed thought stress in the workplace ‘will happen to everybody at some time’. More
  • Stress-related sickness absences cost an estimated £4 billion annually. More
  • If sufficient numbers of staff are affected by stress, the problem can become a serious organisational one, manifesting as absenteeism, reduced productivity, increased staff turnover and customer complaints. More
  • Effective help in the early stages can help to prevent long-term problems both for individuals and organisations. More
  • Stress prevention strategies should also involve the development of a supportive work ethos and climate, in which staff can feel free to be open about stress they are experiencing, in the knowledge that they will be helped and supported to deal with their issues. More
  • Access to professional counselling services can be an invaluable help in assisting the recovery of stressed employees. More
  • Crucial to the success of a mental health policy is that it should be developed by a working group that includes representatives from all levels and sections of the organisation. More
  • Negative, stigmatising attitudes can be a significant stumbling block to the development and implementation of a mental health policy, and thus to improving the mental health of employees. More
  • The Disability Discrimination Act places a duty on employers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to prevent disabled job applicants and employees being placed at a substantial disadvantage in relation to others. More
  • Rehabilitation to work after an absence due to stress or other mental health problems will usually be more cost effective than early retirement and recruiting and training a replacement. More

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Foreword

Over 25 million people in the UK spend a large part of their lives at work. It stands to reason that a psychologically healthy workforce and a supportive work environment will benefit staff and employers alike. In a Confederation of British Industry (CBI)survey of over 800 companies, 98% of respondents said they thought that the mental health of employees should be a company concern. Similarly, the large majority (81%) considered that the mental health of staff should be part of company policy. Despite their concerns, however, less than 1 in 10 of these companies had an official policy on mental health.

The aims of this booklet are:

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The scale of the problem

Mental ill-health or distress is a major cause of sickness absence from work, reduced productivity and staff turnover. Stress is the root cause of a lot mental ill-health, especially anxiety and depression.

Stress is a necessary part of everyday life. Indeed, some degree of stress or pressure is considered healthy. Underemployment can lead to boredom, apathy and a loss of energy and motivation. But conversely, excessive stress can lead to fatigue, impaired judgment and decision making, exhaustion and the onset of serious health problems – both mental and physical.

Physically, stress is implicated in the development of coronary heart disease, certain types of cancer, and a host of other ailments including stomach ulcers, skin rashes, migraine, asthma, and increased susceptibility to infections.

The psychological effects of stress can be just as damaging. Increased anxiety, irritability, disturbed sleep, poor concentration and aggressive behaviour can increase the risk of accidents and disrupt relationships both at work and at home. Individuals under stress are often inclined to smoke more, drink more alcohol, and consume excessive amounts of caffeine, thus increasing irritability, sleep impairment, etc., in a vicious circle. Exposure to prolonged stress will increase the risk of serious mental health problems, including depression and disabling anxiety conditions, as well as alcohol misuse.

Who is at risk?

Anyone can experience stress from their work, depending on the demands of their job, the conditions in which they work, and their individual susceptibility, which can be increased by problems outside of the workplace. In a recent research survey of 270 company line managers, 88% claimed a moderate or high level of stress in their work, which 39% claimed had got worse over the past year. >Just over three-quarters of those surveyed – 77% – thought stress in the workplace ‘will happen to everybody at some time’. Moreover, 52% said they knew someone who had suffered stress severe enough to stop them working and require long-term medical treatment.

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The cost of mental ill-health

Mental ill-health among the workforce exerts a substantial cost from British industry.

There are many other costs in addition to those of sickness absence. Ineffective working and poor interpersonal relations can substantially reduce productivity. Increased staff turnover necessitates recruitment costs. Administrative as well as personal costs are involved in covering for absent employees. Additional costs are incurred when staff take early retirement or medical severance on health grounds.

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What can give rise to stress at work? 

Work on the whole has a beneficial impact on mental health. It gives structure and purpose to the week, opportunities to meet people and make friends, and a means of increasing one’s sense of self-worth and of being valued by others.

In certain circumstances, however, work can cause or contribute to stress and subsequent problems of anxiety and depression. Research has highlighted a number of work-related factors that can negatively affect wellbeing.

No single factor alone is likely to be the cause of someone becoming stressed at work. Stress tends to build up over a period to time through a combination of circumstances, some of which may not be related to work at all. Problems in domestic relationships, money worries, even difficulties in travelling to work can contribute to reducing a person’s ability to cope with stress in the workplace.

If sufficient numbers of staff are affected by stress, however, the problem can become a serious organisational one, manifesting as absenteeism, reduced productivity, increased staff turnover and customer complaints. This becomes a particular risk during times of organisational change, such as restructuring or downsizing, which need to be anticipated and effectively managed if large numbers of staff are not to become disaffected.

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The early warning signs

Most people will experience aspects of stress at work sometimes, and no employer can totally prevent this. However, when an individual or group of employees becomes so chronically stressed that their health and functioning are affected, there will usually be characteristic signs and symptoms. Any of the following can provide clues that something is wrong and an employer needs to take appropriate action to help.

Indicators of individual stress

Indicators of group level stress

These can all be signs that stress has built to such an extent that an individual may be in danger of developing more severe anxiety or depression. Effective help in the early stages can help to prevent long-term problems both for individuals and organisations. Clearly this needs to be sensitively handled or the intervention may exacerbate the problem. The emphasis should be providing reassurance and giving the individual the opportunity to talk about how they are feeling and to seek help.

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Creating a healthy workplace

Any employer who wishes to create a healthy work environment for their staff will need to develop policies and procedures to ensure that their approach is systematic and thorough, and its results are tangible. A specific policy relating to mental health at work is advisable. Effective stress prevention and management require tackling the problem at several levels simultaneously.

Preventing or minimising the causes of stress

Eliminating or reducing sources of stress may be achieved by improving physical working conditions, redesigning jobs, and/or allowing more flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, job rotation, flexible working hours or the provision of crèche facilities. Changes in personnel policies, e.g. to improve communication, can also be helpful, as can strategic planning to allow more decision-making and autonomy among staff ‘on the ground’, e.g. by encouraging groups of workers to review and recommend changes to system practices to reduce stress.

Since the sources of stress will vary between and even within organisations, these must first be identified by some kind of ‘stress audit’. In larger companies, this might take the form of a self-report questionnaire administered to employees on an organisation-wide or site- or department-specific basis. The most widely used diagnostic tool of this type is the Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI), which includes scales to measure job satisfaction, mental and physical health, coping and support strategies, in addition to identifying sources of stress. Smaller companies may find it more appropriate to develop checklists, which can be administered on a more informal basis, or to organise discussion groups involving small numbers of staff. In either case, the agenda should cover the following issues.

The results can be used as a lever for organisational change and a guide to where resources need to be directed to achieve change in preventing stress. Regular auditing can also provide a means of monitoring stress levels and evaluating the effects of changes in policies and practices at work.

Stress prevention strategies should also involve the development of a supportive work ethos and climate, in which staff can feel free to be open about stress they are experiencing, in the knowledge that they will be helped and supported to deal with their issues. This may require setting up more open communication channels within an organisation, and actively discouraging behaviours that contribute to stress, such as routine late working, taking work home at weekends, and competitive behaviour.

Helping people cope with unavoidable stress

A number of interventions can help individuals to deal with sources of stress that cannot be changed, and thus avoid their negative effects. Such initiatives generally involve skills training and education.

Another approach is the direct promotion of positive health behaviours which aim to keep staff fit to cope with the pressures of work. These may include provision of exercise and keep-fit programmes, and the introduction of healthy lifestyle management initiatives, such as health screening programmes, smoking and alcohol cessation programmes, and dietary advice.

Early intervention and support

Early recognition of the signs of stress, anxiety and depression is the crucial first step in dealing with such problems and preventing them from becoming more serious. Most people make a full recovery, often without needing to take any time off work. However, individuals should be encouraged to seek help as soon as possible, via their GP if no workplace programme or occupational health service is in place.

Attention should be given to removing or reducing further sources of stress at work, and supporting the individual through any short-term crisis.

Access to professional counselling services can be an invaluable help in assisting the recovery and rehabilitation of stressed employees, and the number of organisations providing such services is currently increasing. Such services are ideally provided either by an independent outside agency, or form part of a broader employee assistance programme (EAP), which may sometimes be sourced in-house. Counselling programmes such as that introduced by The Post Office have substantially reduced staff absenteeism and other indicators of mental ill-health. EAPs provide information and referral to appropriate support services, including counselling support, for employees and sometimes their family members. Other provisions may include a 24-hour telephone counselling/help line for staff support.

A particular advantage of EAPs is that they can be used to provide feedback to employers, on a confidential basis, about recurring problems within an organisation, thus helping to identify sources of stress and areas of intervention for stress management and prevention programmes.

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Developing a mental health policy 

The Health and Safety Executive recommends that a mental health policy should be an integral part of any organisation’s health and safety policy. Some large companies, such as Marks and Spencer, AstraZeneca and The Boots Company, have developed policies that successfully address the issue of mental health in the workplace. Analysis of such model policies has defined certain key elements of good practice in relation to promoting mental wellbeing at work. As a first step, it seems that organisations need to recognise and accept that mental health is an important issue. Introduction of a mental health policy embodies such an organisational commitment to mental health.

There are three key stages in establishing a mental health policy.

1 Audit

– to provide information on existing levels of stress and mental ill-health within an organisation, and in what ways organisational structure and function may be contributing to these, or otherwise. The process will identify areas for intervention via a mental health policy.

2 Development

– to produce a mental health policy tailored to the needs of an organisation. The policy document may include:

Crucial to the success of a mental health policy is that it should be developed by a working group that includes representatives from all levels and sections of the organisation, including personnel/human resource managers, health professionals such as occupational health nurses, physicians or psychologists, senior management, and employee representatives. It should also be applicable to all staff, regardless of age, sex, ethnic origin or grade.

3. Implementation

– to convert the policy into practice throughout the organisation. This relies on the commitment and co-operation of all employees, headed by management at the most senior level. Any mental health policy should be reinforced by regular monitoring and evaluation against performance indicators, such as reductions in sickness absence and improvements in staff satisfaction as demonstrated by regular auditing. Revision of the policy in line with review findings should permit its continual improvement, alongside a parallel improvement in the mental wellbeing of staff.

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Employing people with mental health problems 

There remains a great deal of stigma attached to mental ill-health despite the widespread prevalence of mental health problems. A survey carried out by Mind in 1996 found that of 778 people with mental health problems, 39% said they had been denied a job, 15% had been denied promotion, and 34% had been dismissed or forced to resign because of their illness. A further 38% reported being teased, harassed or intimidated at work, while 69% had been put off applying for jobs because of unfair treatment.

Apart from reducing the employment prospects of people with mental health problems, negative, stigmatising attitudes can be a significant stumbling block to the development and implementation of a mental health policy, and thus to improving the mental health of all employees. In a 1999 research survey of 270 company line managers, 69% said they thought that staff would either be hesitant to talk about feeling under stress, or would not talk about it or ask for help, so their work might suffer. A culture of openness and acceptance of mental distress as a normal part of all people’s lives at some time is thus an essential basis on which to build a workable strategy for improving mental wellbeing among the workforce.

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The Disability Discrimination Act 

The Disability Discrimination Act (1995) may contribute to improving the acceptance of mental health problems. The Act makes it unlawful for employers of 15 or more people to discriminate on the grounds of disability. Disability is defined as

‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.

Mental impairment in this context refers to a clinically recognised illness such as schizophrenia, manic depression, panic disorder or a depressive condition, while long-term means having lasted, or likely to last, for at least a year.

The Disability Discrimination Act places a duty on employers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to prevent disabled job applicants and employees being placed at a substantial disadvantage in relation to others in respect of:

Many people with mental health problems will not require any adjustments to be made. Often, however, the most difficult aspect of having a disability – physical or mental – is other people’s attitudes. Implementing an equal opportunities policy on disability to cover people with mental health problems, and raising staff awareness about issues of mental ill-health and distress by means of training and a management commitment to a mental health policy, can make a considerable impact on these. Other adjustments may include: opportunities for flexible hours and working arrangements, additional support and supervision, provision of a quiet room, use of e-mail if direct contact is a problem, and allowing a gradual return to work after illness. People with long-term mental health problems may be eligible for help with such adjustments under the Government’s Access to Work Scheme.

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Equal opportunities

An equal opportunities policy that seeks to overcome barriers to recruitment and retention of people with mental health problems is an excellent further step towards overcoming stigmatisation on the grounds of mental health. Job advertisements, application forms and company policy may be used to state and reinforce a commitment to equality of opportunity for those with mental health problems. South West London and St. George’s Mental Health NHS Trust established such a policy in 1997, in line with the Disability Discrimination Act, but including a number of further commitments by the Trust, as follows.

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Returning to work after stress-related absence

Returning to work after a stress-related absence requires careful thought and planning by all parties. Persistent sources of stress will need to be addressed via audit, prevention and management strategies. Ongoing support, particularly in the early stages, can be vital.

Rehabilitation to work after a longer term absence due to stress or other mental health problem will usually be more cost effective than early retirement and recruiting and training a replacement. A return-to-work interview will be useful in determining whether an employee is happy to resume all aspects of their job, or whether they want a phased re-introduction to it, or for some parts of their work to be changed. Follow-up interviews will help to monitor progress. Liaison between the employee, their line manager, and occupational health services, where these are available, will play an important role in the success of a person’s return to work and further years of productive service.

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References

Bird L. The Fundamental Facts... all the latest facts and figures on mental illness. London: The Mental Health Foundation, 1999.

Cooper C, Cartwright S. Mental Health and Stress in the Workplace: a guide for employers. London: HMSO, 1996.

Doherty N, Tyson S. Mental wellbeing in the Workplace. A resource pack for management training and development. Norwich: HMSO, 1998.

Floyd M, Povall M, Watson G (eds.). ‘Mental Health at Work’. In: Disability and Rehabilitation Series 5. London: Jessica Kingsley, 1994.

Grayling. VAR Spotcheck™. Project Feeling. (Mental health awards commissioned report), VA Research Ltd., 1998

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Further reading

Cartwright S, Cooper C. Managing Workplace Stress. London: Sage, 1997.

Doherty N, Tyson S. Mental wellbeing in the Workplace. A resource pack for management training and development. Norwich: HMSO, 1998.

Employers’ Forum on Disability.
A brief introduction to the Disability Discrimination Act, 1996.
Briefing papers: A practical guide to employment adjustments for people with mental health problems, 1998; A practical guide to health and safety and the DDA, 1999.

Kogan H (ed.) The Corporate Healthcare Handbook. London: Kogan Page, 1997.

The Industrial Society. ‘Stress Management’. In series: Managing Best Practice. London: The Industrial Society, 1995.

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Voluntary organisations

Waterbridge House
32-36 Loman Street
London
SE1 0EE

Tel: + 44 (0) 207 928 7377
Helpline: + 44 (0) 800 917 8282 (24 hours)
Website: www.alcoholconcern.org.uk

Alcohol Concern is the national agency on alcohol misuse, supplying information and details of local services.

PO Box 1
Stonebow House
Stonebow
York
YO1 2NJ

Tel: + 44 (0) 1904 644 026 (Office Mon-Thurs 9am-5pm. Fri 9am-4.30pm)
Helpline: + 44 (0) 845 769 7555
London helpline: + 44 (0) 20 7833 0022 (10am - 10pm daily)

A fellowship of men and women who share their experiences to stay sober and to help others recover from alcoholism.

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Government support services

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Mental Health Foundation

Published by the Mental Health Foundation

UK Office: 20/21 Cornwall Terrace, London NW1 4QL
Tel: 020 7535 7400
Fax: 020 7535 7474

Scotland Office: 24 George Square, Glasgow G2 1EG
Tel: 0141 572 0125
Fax: 0141 572 0246

E-mail: mhf@mhf.org.uk
Website: www.mentalhealth.org.uk

Registered Charity no. 801130

Copyright © 1999, 2000

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