A study conducted by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in 2016 revealed that 22% of workers in Ireland experience stress at work either ‘always’ or ‘most of the time’ (The Irish Times, 2017) – so what are your responsibilities as an employer?
Employers who place unreasonable demands on employees without assisting them when informed of their work-related Stress (WRS) have been held responsible and held liable to pay compensation (Health and Safety Authority, 2009).
In order to know how to manage WRS, we must first define and understand it...
What is WRS?
WRS is stress that is caused, or made worse by, work. It occurs when someone perceives the work environment in a way that’s beyond their ability to cope. It may be caused by a number of factors such as:
- Pressures
- Deadlines
- Threats
- Anxieties
As WRS is brought upon by how an individual
reacts to the work environment, it’s often different in every individual case. Certain personalities may thrive in a fast-paced, high-demand job, while others may slink away. People react in different ways: some might keep to themselves and allow the stress to build and build, while others may project aggressive or secluded behaviour.
In turn, this may lead to an unhealthy and underperforming work environment – so it’s vital to have measures in place if stress may be a factor in
your workplace.
Your duties
Employers have a duty to ensure that the health of employees is not endangered at work and therefore should not place unreasonable demands on them.
In order to understand what’s reasonable, it’s important to have risk assessments and control measures in place. Identify potential stressors and implement measures to eliminate or reduce them to an acceptable level.
To identify WRS in your workplace, you need to monitor how employees normally work under pressure. If stress is subsequently identified, you should have a written policy in place that sets out how you’ll support and help the employee.
You can also take the opportunity to learn from this experience, and come up with ways to prevent this reoccurring, e.g. reducing workloads by extending deadlines or employing more staff.
Employee Assistance Programme
One of the easiest ways to look after your staff is by giving them access to the benefits of the Health Assured
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
This online and in-person support network is on-hand 24/7, 365 days a year, to keep your people at their best. So if an employee needs confidential advice about work-related stress, they can get it immediately via the EAP.
One of the key benefits of having an EAP constantly working to help you look after your staff is that you’ll see improved morale in the workplace, and fewer people taking days off for stress-related illnesses. To learn more, please visit
Health Assured.
If you have any questions in relation to work-related stress, please contact our expert employment law advisors on the 24 Hour Advice Service on 0818 923 923
