A
major new awareness campaign which hopes to prevent work-related stress has
been launched by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The
campaign will include media advertising, supporting material, leaflets, an
action line and guidelines on how to prevent work-related stress.
Initially
aimed at public sector workers where levels of reported incidence of stress are
highest, a series of advertisements will advise managers of schools, hospitals,
police and emergency services on steps to take in preventing the condition.
It
is hoped the campaign will also raise awareness among managers in UK companies
of all sizes.
The
initiative will also help managers pave the way for next year’s introduction of
the first management standards on stress in the workplace. These standards will
provide a clear yardstick against which to measure an employer’s management
performance in preventing stress.Â
Part
of the campaign will be to encourage organisations to send for HSE’s detailed
guide: Tackling work-related stress: a manager’s guide to improving and
maintaining employee health and well-being.
For
firms with fewer than 50 employees, there is the free booklet Work-related
stress.
Elizabeth
Gyngell, head of HSE’s health directorate, said:Â "Stress management should become part of corporate culture
as a preventative measure. Our aim is to prevent people being affected by
work-related stress. There are early warning signs of stress that managers can
look for and steps that can be taken to reduce its effects."
Work-related
stress is also the focus for this year’s European Week for Safety and Health,
beginning on 14 October. Organisations throughout the UK are being urged to run
stress prevention campaigns.
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