The issue of workplace stress has received a new impetus, with the focus now primarily shifting towards the role of management behaviour in improving standards of mental health of employees.
A new guidance called ‘Line Management Behaviour and Stress at Work’ has been unveiled to identify the essential behavioural skills that managers need to imbibe and demonstrate for managing stress at the workplace. This guidance is a collaboration of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Investors in People (IIP). It is the fruit of an elaborate four-year research conducted on stress management in which numerous managers and workers were interviewed, as well as an assessment across 17 organisations on how manager training can lead to better management of workplace stress.
The targets managerial behaviour under four competency areas:
- Allocating and supervising tasks;
- Managing tricky situations;
- Managing a particular member of the team; and
- Controlling emotions and displaying integrity.
Continuous stress contributes to a range of disorders like depression, back pain, headaches, as well as cardiac disease, says Ben Willmott, Senior Public Policy Adviser at the CIPD. There has been a significant rise in stress-related disorders in the UK since 1990, and with recession gripping the economy, matters will take a more serious turn in the next few years, predicts the World Health Organisation. About half of the 3,000 employees surveyed by CIPD last month have experienced an increase in stress levels as a result of the economic problems.
Commenting on the research and guidance, Ben Willmott laid special emphasis on the importance of manager training in stress management competencies, as well trained managers can successfully work towards reducing disputes and improve staff turnover rates, as well as increase motivation and dedication to work.
