Identifying the stressors in the workplace is the first step to finding ways of reducing them, according to Dr Blanaid Hayes, consultant in occupational medicine at Beaumont Hospital and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (RCPI).
Firstly, Hayes says that physical, chemical and biological hazards are no longer the main causes of concern within the workplace. “We have come a long way in terms of improving physical safety through health and safety legislation. There are still too many accidents on farms and in the construction and fishing industries, but psychosocial hazards have become the main workplace stressors nowadays,” says Hayes.
“We all have our own thresholds and personal issues or vulnerabilities that can impair our ability to manage stress, but organisations can also see what areas of employment cause stress,” she adds.
Psychosocial stressors can be divided into six areas and workplaces can go some distance to dealing with them through good management and clear communication with employees. A demanding job or an unrealistic amount of work on a continuous basis is a widespread workplace stressor. “Most people have peaks and troughs in their work but, for example, for many healthcare workers there is unrelenting demand, which is very stressful,” says Hayes.
“If there is good communication in the workplace, employees can prepare psychologically to deal with extra work demands when they know that these demands will flatten out later. There are also incidents of workers being understimulated or feeling undermined due to having too little work, although this is less common.”
Not having control over your workload is another stressor that many people will identify with. “There are some people who can cope with very busy jobs because they have a lot of control over what they do. In these cases, the control mitigates the demand, but jobs that have high demand with low control can be very stressful and lead to health problems,” says Hayes.
Unsupportive environment
An unsupportive workplace environment is another huge stressor for some employees. “If you perceive that you are being bullied or unfairly treated, this is a big stressor,” she says. The other three main areas of work that can cause stress are an ill-defined job description, which can lead to ambiguity in terms of areas of responsibility, poor relationships with peers and/or managers, and changes within your organisation or company. The recent trend towards contract employment – in particular, zero-hours contracts – is another big stressor for workers in the low-pay sector. “Uncertainty is very stressful and the brain can’t grapple with prolonged uncertainty,” says Hayes.
Managers with good communication skills can reduce employees’ stress levels by being aware of these potential psychosocial stressors. “People management is one of the toughest jobs in the world. A good starting point for managers is to have open communication, not to make excuses, to take criticism and accept that they don’t always get it right,” says Hayes.
“Good managers will be self-aware and alert to their own biases, strengths and weaknesses, and be able to challenge these traits in themselves. They will also be prepared to grapple with a problem when it presents and not procrastinate and let a problem fester or escalate,” she adds.
“Sometimes, a stressed employee is dealing with a combination of issues. They might need to step back and reflect on what they can do to improve their coping abilities. Sometimes, people need to look at whether they are drinking too much, or not getting enough exercise, or whether they can find other lifestyle changes that can help them cope better,” she says.
At Beaumont Hospital, Hayes has been involved in setting up the wellbeing in the workplace programme which gives staff help and advice about how to maintain their health. The scheme offers free training and free appointments with specialists where necessary across four health pillars: healthy body, healthy mind, healthy work environment and healthy behaviours. So, for example, there is ergonomic advice for office workers and training in manual handling for staff dealing with patients. Staff can self-refer for sessions in counselling or physiotherapy within the hospital. And Beaumont Hospital was one of the first to introduce online mindfulness exercises for staff and patients alike. The health-promotion team offers smoking-cessation programmes to staff, and the canteen offers healthy menu options.
Hayes says that offering cholesterol screening and other health screening is, in some ways, the easy part of promoting a healthy workplace. Looking more closely at the indicators of staff distress, ill health or absenteeism is more complex.
“I am more impressed by employers who look carefully at work accidents or injuries and staff turnover. Holding exit interviews tells you more about the culture of an organisation than hosting health initiatives [does],” she says.
The RCPI is looking at the health and wellbeing of hospital doctors as a first step to addressing health concerns faced by this group of workers. “There have been a few tragic cases of doctors dying by suicide and junior doctors have also spoken out about depression and other health issues, so we have decided to shine a light on physician wellbeing,” says Hayes. A questionnaire was sent out to consultant and trainee hospital doctors last year and had an impressive response rate of 55 per cent. The results are being analysed and will supplement the recent position paper on physician wellbeing published by the RCPI.
