Psychologists from The University of Nottingham and colleagues from the UK's leading manufacturers’ organisation, are to unveil Britain’s first bespoke ‘work organisation’ toolkit that will help managers identify and reduce the risk of stress affecting employees' health and performance at work.
Professor Tom Cox, Professor Amanda Griffiths and Maria Karanika, of the University’s Institute of Work Health and Organisations and Dr Sayeed Kahn, Chief Medical Adviser for EEF, the manufacturers' organisation, present their research today (Thursday November 25) at the European Academy — Occupational Health Psychology, Oporto, Portugal.
In collaboration with EEF, the I-WHO psychologists have created a risk management approach to stress, which focuses on the prevention of stress, through the improvement of work design and management.
Professor Tom Cox, Director of the I-WHO, said: “We are pleased to have been able to develop this process specifically for the manufacturing sector. The toolkit is firmly based in good science and consistent with the UK Health & Safety Executive recommendations.
“Companies using this risk management approach to stress will receive quality information that will allow them to move forward and improve their work management systems. It will be of mutual benefit to both the employees and the organisation. Not only will the organisation fulfil its legal duties, but fuelled by healthy and productive employees, it will also increase its chances of surviving and prospering in an increasingly hostile and competitive market place.”
At the heart of the toolkit is a practical and detailed work organisation questionnaire. The questionnaire helps firms to identify management and workplace practices that either protect against or cause stress. The areas cover such issues as relationships with management and colleagues, employees' sense of being valued, the physical environment and workload.
The questionnaire has been fully researched and tested with a sample of more than 500 employees at all company levels, from managers to manual workers.
The test sample showed that workers felt most positive in the workplace about: the relationship they had with their co-workers, both as a team and socially; safety at work; support from their line manager or supervisor; clarity of objectives; and values and procedures set out by their company.
The issues that caused most concern among the workforce were: opportunities for promotion; work surroundings, for example, noise and lighting conditions; the appreciation of efforts from line managers and supervisors; senior management attitudes; and feedback on performance.
The I-WHO/EEF toolkit also provides advice and guidance for organisations - evaluating risk, deciding on a strategy, developing an action plan and reviewing progress - together with a range of solutions that firms can use to address specific problems that emerge.
The I-WHO psychologists have been instrumental in shaping and informing the UK government’s strategy for the management of stress at work. Their research on the risk management approach to stress has provided the Management Standards, published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) earlier this month. The HSE is encouraging organisations to adopt a risk management approach and has suggested ways in which this might be done.
Working closely with EEF, the I-WHO psychologists have taken this initiative forward by tailoring the risk management strategy to the manufacturing sector.
Dr Sayeed Khan, EEF Chief Medical Adviser said: “There are a number of other methods available for assessing relationships between poor work design and ill health — however the EEF/IWHO toolkit is unique in that it helps to determine not only the negative impacts of work organisation but also the positive impacts.
“The EEF/I-WHO toolkit has a more targeted approach aimed at overcoming the limitations of other generic tools that only loosely fit their intended users and will increase the accuracy of diagnosis and management for those who apply it.”