Stress in the Workplace: A Risk Assessment Approach to Reduction of Risk
| Published date | 01 January 1999 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17465729199900004 |
| Pages | 15-20 |
| Date | 01 January 1999 |
| Author | Rebecca Lancaster,Elizabeth Burtney |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
International Journal of Mental Health Promotion VOLUME 1 ISSUE 1 • JANUARY 1999 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Limited. 15
Introduction
The Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) was established in April
1991 as a national agency for health education in Scotland. This health
education role is set within the broader context of health promotion which
has been defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the process
of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health
(Health Education Board for Scotland, 1997).
The health promotion activity of HEBS is delivered through a range of
settings thatinclude schools, community,the health ser vice,the general
public, voluntary organisations and the workplace. The workplace has
been acknowledged as an important arena for health promotion work, given
that we can spend up to one third of our lives in formal paid work. For
those in work, it can be viewed as a social and learning environment that
may provide an important source of social support and certainly lends
itself to promotion work thatextends beyond the workplace into the com-
munity (Crosswaite & Jones, 1994).
Why promote mental health in the workplace?
This paper will outline four main reasons, which will highlight the need for
mental health promotion in the workplace:
■
The broad policycontext within which we operate
has an influence on our work, particularly Scottish developments.
■
Research findings, specifically from research carried out by HEBS,
indicates the salience of mental health issues in the workplace, partic-
ularly in relation to stress.
■
The high cost of mental health problems to both
society and industry.
■
The legal responsibilities which employers may
soon face.
Mental health has been highlighted as a priority area for anumber of years
now. However, the focus in the past has mainly been on suicide prevention,
at the very extreme end of the spectrum. In Scotland, policy has pro-
gressed to the point where the recent Green Paper for health, Working
Stress in the Workplace:
ARisk Assessment Approach to
Reduction
of Risk
Rebecca J. Lancaster
Institute of Occupational Medicine,
8Roxburgh Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9SU
Elizabeth Burtney
Health Education Board for Scotland, Canaan Lane,
Edinburgh, EH10 4SG
FEATURE
Mental ill-health in the workplace is estimated to cost UK
employers £6.2b each year in lost working days. This
concern to employers and employees alike was recently
highlighted by the Health Education Board for Scotland
(HEBS) needs assessment study of workplace health
promotion, which identified stress as a major issue.
AHealth and Safety Executive review (1993) of the
stress literature proposed the incorporation of stress
within the framework of the assessment and control
cycle already introduced to minimise physical health
and safety risks. This was supported by the HEBS study
that identified health and safety as the predominant
health-related culture in Scottish workplaces. It is
therefore appropriate to include stress control with
other health and safety issues.
The Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) had
already developed a risk assessment approach, entitled
the Organisational Stress Health Audit (OSHA), and
the feasibility of this was tested in the pilot study
commissioned by HEBS.
This paper presents the background to this organisational
approach, its feasibility in controlling stress across
different types of organisation and future plans for
development of the approach.
The views presented are those of the researchers
and not the commissioning body.
ABSTRACT
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