Make Stress Awareness Month the month you make it routine to prevent stress and support mental health at work - and encourage others in the MVR sector too. We're inviting employers and managers to complete the 5 steps of our Working Minds campaign over the course of the month - whether thatâs learning how, or actually getting stuck in.
5 steps in 5 weeks Reach out and have conversations Recognise the signs and causes of stress Respond to any risks identified by agreeing action points Reflect on the actions taken â have things improved? Make it Routine to check back in on how things are going Join us: plan it into the diary tell your colleagues and teams register for bitesize learning for step-by-step advice, tools and templates download the campaign materials to share with others |
The most important step is getting started â taking the first step to start the conversation or get prepared to. Â
You can have conversations individually or in groups or teams, the key thing is to recognise any common stressors or issues being raised. You might also gather information such as sickness absence records and staff survey results if you have them.
 There are 6 main areas that can lead to work-related stress if they are not managed properly:  demands control support relationships role change If youâre finding it difficult to know where to start, see the Talking Toolkit for a step-by-step approach of what to ask and some ideas of what to do next. The signs of stress... More reports of stress would indicate that issues may be bubbling where you work, but there are other less obvious things to consider that can mean that workers are showing signs of stress. Â
A change in the way someone acts can also be a sign, for example taking more timeâ¯off, arriving for workâ¯later, loss of motivation or confidence, or seemingâ¯moreâ¯nervous or emotional. Across the team, this can also look like: Â
argumentsâ¯Â  higher staff turnoverâ¯Â  more sickness absenceâ¯Â  decreasedâ¯performanceâ¯Â  more complaints and grievances Although employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work, diagnosing and treating stress isnâtâ¯your responsibility. Your responsibility is to identify the risks of stress and act on them.   You can use HSEâs risk assessment template to record what youâve found and agreed to do to prevent, reduce or tackle issues. watch our video: 5 steps in 5 weeks view the automotive page of our Working Minds website for more information and details of the support available to the sector  download our one-page round up of support and resources (.pdf) available to support employers and workers to prevent stress and support good mental health at work read our blog, Taking an organisational approach to risk assessment, which can tackle the root cause of issues and help the whole team | 