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Work-related stress: Developing manager capability

Overview

Stress is one of the leading causes of sickness absence in the workplace. It affects individuals, their families and colleagues by impacting on their health, but it also has an impact on employers resulting in sickness absence, the additional cost of replacement staff, lost production and increased accidents.

As well as the moral imperative, employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work by doing an organisational level risk assessment and acting on it. There is plenty of evidence that taking action to protect and promote mental health in the workplace can be cost-effective.

Workplaces that promote good mental health and reduce work stress are more likely to reduce absenteeism, improve performance and productivity, boost staff morale and motivation, retain staff and minimise tension and conflict between colleagues.

However, in HSE's experience, managers, supervisors and leaders often feel at a loss to know how to tackle this huge issue: where to start, how to have meaningful conversations with their team; even how to challenge whether their own organisations is doing enough.

This experience aligns with World Health Organisation (WHO) findings, whose global guidelines on mental health and work highlight the pivotal role line managers play and the importance of equipping managers with the tools to support their workers.

This one day online course (delivered over two half-days) is designed to increase delegates' confidence and competence in managing work-related stress at the organisational, team and individual level and provides advice on fostering a supportive working environment.

Learning outcomes

Delegates will be provided with information that will help them to:

• Understand HSE's approach to managing stress and mental health at work
• Become familiar with HSE's Management Standards and how they can support their organisation's workplace stress and mental health strategy
• Spot the signs of stress in their team (both face-to-face and remotely)​
• Recognise the competencies that enable managers to become more effective at managing stress in their teams
• Gain insight into their personal competencies as a manager
• Reflect how they might adapt their approach to managing stress in their team
• Have constructive conversations with their peers about how to ensure their organisation focuses primarily on prevention and organisational level solutions
• Understand the different types of interventions required to manage stress at work
• Identify practical tools to manage stress at the organisational and team level
• Reflect on actions that they could take to improve

What the course will cover

This course provides delegates with the building blocks that will help them foster a supportive working environment. Delegates will learn about the differences between pressure and stress, how to spot the signs of stress in their team (in person and remotely) and about burnout and its relationship to stress.

Delegates will examine HSE's recommended organisational approach to stress risk assessment and become familiar with HSE's Management Standards for stress. The course will develop the delegate's personal approach to managing work-related stress by getting them to reflect on their own behaviour and management style. They will have an opportunity to complete a self-assessment tool to help them review their personal approach. This session also provides delegates with a number of practical tools and techniques for managing stress at the team level, including how to structure conversations around stress and/or mental health, the types of interventions to consider and the importance of listening.  The course is delivered over two half-day sessions.

During both sessions there is time to share thoughts and best practice with other delegates in order to enhance the learning experience.

Who should attend?

The course is designed for line managers, HR managers, supervisors, team leads, occupational health managers or those responsible for individual case management and risk assessment for stress.

Book your place(s)

Course fees include all resources and a certificate of attendance (please note that all courses must be paid for via credit card at the time of booking).

Click the button below to view upcoming course dates, prices and to book your place(s).

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In-house training

This course can also be delivered to larger groups at a suitable, agreed location anywhere in the UK or internationally, online, or at the HSE Science and Research Centre. Content can also be tailored to meet organisations' own needs. Please get in touch to find out more.

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