Fact Service May 2022

Stress and mental health at work - a guide for trade unions and working people

Stress can have a devastating impact on workers mental health. This booklet provides practical advice for reps, activists and workers. It:

• explains what stress is and explores the extent of work-related stress; • examines how the Covid pandemic has exacerbated an existing mental health crisis in Britain’s workplaces; • outlines the law in this area, looking at how safety reps can use health and safety and equality law to tackle problems; • summarises the HSE Management Standards and guidance on using the standards; • looks at trade union action to prevent stress: and • sets out how employers can provide support for workers suffering from mental ill health. This crucial LRD booklet is an excellent resource for developing workplace policies, negotiating and representing trade union members, workplace and trade union courses and dealing with personal stress and mental health problems at work

Introduction

Introduction [page 3] (881 words)

“Work-related stress and poor mental health risk becoming a health and safety crisis for Great Britain’s workplaces,” the regulator the Health ...
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Chapter 1

1. What is stress and who does it affect? [ch 1: page 5] (213 words)

The HSE describes work-related stress as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them”. ...
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Who does stress affect? [ch 1: page 5] (62 words)

TUC survey findings [ch 1: page 5] (1,102 words)

Stress and workers with protected characteristics [ch 1: page 8] (482 words)

What causes work-related stress? [ch 1: page 9] (556 words)

What are the symptoms of stress? [ch 1: page 10] (108 words)

What does a stressed workplace look like? [ch 1: page 11] (243 words)

What does a mentally healthy workplace look like? [ch 1: page 11] (250 words)

The impact of stress on workers [ch 1: page 12] (359 words)

Stress can kill [ch 1: page 13] (1,163 words)

The costs of poor mental health for organisations and society — the business case for action [ch 1: page 16] (638 words)

Chapter 2

2. The impact of the Covid pandemic on stress and mental health [ch 2: page 18] (271 words)

This chapter summarises some of the recent trade union and other research demonstrating the impact of Covid on work-related stress and mental ill ...
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Evidence of the impact of Covid on stress and mental health at work [ch 2: page 18] (1,142 words)

Building back better mental health [ch 2: page 21] (913 words)

Chapter 3

3. Work-related stress and the law [ch 3: page 24] (142 words)

This chapter summarises the legal duties owed by the employer in relation to work-related stress. ...
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Main sources of legal rights [ch 3: page 25] (85 words)

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 [ch 3: page 25] (337 words)

Working Time Regulations 1998 [ch 3: page 26] (931 words)

Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations [ch 3: page 28] (605 words)

The HSE Management Standards [ch 3: page 30] (3,163 words)

The UK lags behind Europe on protection against work-related stress risks [ch 3: page 37] (165 words)

Chapter 4

4. Using the HSE Management Standards [ch 4: page 38] (160 words)

The centrepiece of the HSE’s efforts to tackle stress is its Management Standards, which have been endorsed by the TUC and unions. ...
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The HSE Management Standards — a summary [ch 4: page 38] (575 words)

The role of safety reps [ch 4: page 40] (142 words)

What the HSE Stress Management Standards should achieve [ch 4: page 40] (635 words)

HSE Stress Management Standards resources [ch 4: page 43] (433 words)

Stress indicator and analysis tools [ch 4: page 44] (967 words)

Detecting signs of stress [ch 4: page 46] (161 words)

Chapter 5

5. Action to tackle work-related stress [ch 5: page 47] (675 words)

A key union message is that stress is an organisational not an individual problem. The NEU repeatedly emphasises in its guidance that a collective ...
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Resisting “resilience” [ch 5: page 48] (202 words)

Negotiating a stress policy [ch 5: page 49] (150 words)

A trade union stress and mental health checklist [ch 5: page 49] (259 words)

Union action to tackle workloads [ch 5: page 50] (1,884 words)

Chapter 6

6. Mental health support [ch 6: page 56] (172 words)

The WHO defines good mental health as: “A state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal ...
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Guidance for employers [ch 6: page 56] (774 words)

Action to improve mental health support [ch 6: page 58] (838 words)

Mental health awareness training [ch 6: page 61] (1,184 words)

Further information

Further help and information (143 words)

Acas helpline; tel: 0300 123 1100; text relay service: 18001 0300 123 1100; https://www.acas.org.uk ...
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