Manchester City Council is piloting a telephone counselling service to
combat worker stress.
The confidential, 24-hour helpline is currently available to 6,000 of the
council’s 27,000 staff, but will be extended to all employees if it proves
successful.
"Stress is increasing in the workplace and it’s a problem for all
organisations," said Jon Redfern, head of personnel at the council.
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"We recognise this and are trying to take preventative action and
support employees in the hope it will prevent stress from kicking in."
Introduced in December 2003 for employees working in the housing, children,
families and social care departments, Redfern said there had been significant
take-up of the service and that feedback has been positive.
