A 2018/19 study by the UK Department for Health and Safety (HSE) found that a total of 12.8 million hours were not worked due to stress. The losses associated with coronary heart disease diagnosed as a result of persistent stress are estimated at around £2.5 million a year in a company with 10,000 employees. In turn, the Polish report „Occupational Safety in Poland 2021” shows that over 1/3 of employees indicated stress as one of the 5 most important factors affecting their work. According to GUS data, it is also one of the 3 main causes of health problems for employees aged 15-44 and 54-64.  Observing these statistics, one can be tempted to say that good organization of work, thanks to which employees are healthy and rested, translates into higher quality and efficiency of work, and consequently – to the success of the entire company.

Since the responsibility for the proper functioning of the company and the well-being of employees, and therefore also for counteracting stress at work, rests with the employer, the basic question should be asked – how to fulfill this obligation? To effectively combat its negative effects, you must first identify the problem. The main causes of stress at work can be m.in.:

• too much workload;
• short deadlines;
• placing too much responsibility on employees;
• lack of support from colleagues and management;
• conflict situations in the team;
• mobbing and discrimination in the workplace.

The easiest way will, of course, be a dialogue with employees – creating conditions in which everyone can openly express their opinion about the scope of duties performed, job satisfaction, as well as the level of stress felt. However, this solution has a disadvantage. It is difficult to imagine that every stress-overloaded employee would willingly admit to his supervisor that he feels overwhelmed and can not cope with the tension at work.

Therefore, the employer should independently identify such situations and, for this purpose, constantly observe employees. Negative symptoms of increased stress levels may be, for example:

• decrease in efficiency at work;
• inability to perform standard tasks and simple commands;
• errors unlike the employee;
• lack of commitment;
• isolating oneself from co-workers;
• increased number of absences from work.

In Polish regulations, it is in vain to look for a direct clause obliging the employer to counteract stress in the workplace. However, this does not mean that such an obligation does not exist. The employer is obliged to provide employees with safe and hygienic working conditions and to protect the health and life of employees, which is one of his basic duties. In the face of the data cited above, it is impossible not to notice that excessive stress at work has a negative impact on the health and even life of employees. Currently, counteracting stress is therefore a necessary condition, without which the employer is de facto unable to provide the employee with safe and hygienic working conditions. In view of these changes taking place in society, it should be emphasized that the obligation to counteract stress falls within the framework of the statutory obligation for the employer to ensure health and safety in the workplace.

However, it should be considered whether it would not be a good solution to adopt (as in the UK) regulations directly shaping the obligation to counteract the negative effects on the health of the employee, which are predictable and related to work. The introduction of precise provisions in this area would be a beneficial solution for both parties to the employment relationship. The employer would gain clear guidelines as to the patterns of conduct required of him and the goals to be achieved in this respect, while the employee would learn what help he can count on from the employer.

However, the employer can effectively counteract stress also in the current legal status – although there is no one universal model. The strategy adopted by the employer to combat stress must be individually tailored to the situation in the company: the cause of stress, the mental state of employees and the main stressors in a given workplace. Depending on the needs, you can implement actions proposed by the National Labor Inspectorate, such as:

• matching the duties of specific employees with their knowledge, skills, physical, intellectual and emotional capabilities;
• updating occupational risk assessments and information on the possible psychological burden associated with the position held;
• improving physical working conditions, e.g. by ensuring the right temperature in rooms, reducing the noise level at stations;
• improving psychosocial working conditions, e.g. by allocating responsibilities to a larger number of employees;
• creation of temporary workstations with lower requirements;
• the introduction of flexible working hours in positions where high levels of stress have been found;
• temporarily transfer employees experiencing high levels of stress to less burdensome work with their consent.

In addition to taking radical measures in the face of increased stress levels in employees, it is important to prevent the harmful accumulation of negative emotions. Preventive actions will allow for the effective functioning of the workplace and will have a positive impact on the well-being of employees. First of all, it is worth taking care from the very beginning to adjust the amount and burden of work to the skills of a specific person, setting rational deadlines and avoiding overtime. A good step is to support the employee in ensuring the right work-life balance. It’s no secret that physical activity and a healthy lifestyle reduce stress levels. It is worth encouraging employees to develop the ability to relieve tension related to work. For this purpose, m.in co-financing of sports benefits by the employer and increasingly popular mobile applications are used, in which employees compete with each other collecting points for the number of steps taken per day or calories burned.

It will be helpful to create a clear structure in the company so that the employee knows exactly who his direct supervisor is, to whom he is to report, as well as is precisely familiar with his scope of duties. Knowing your role and place in the company will have a positive effect in the form of increased self-confidence of the employee – often it is the lack of a sense of control over the situation that can be a stressor for the employee. Employees also count on feedback from the employer about the tasks they have performed, which is why setting clear goals and then the employer’s opinion regarding the task performed will work well.

Finally, the correct organization of work based on achieving maximum efficiency with minimal stress can only be ensured by well-trained managerial staff. That is why it is important that team leaders are open to all training in the field of team management and stress reduction. Leaders with appropriate knowledge in this topic will be able to implement efficient policies for reporting undesirable behavior, responding to cases of excessive stress, as well as resolving conflicts in the team.

Source: https://www.prawo.pl/kadry/przeciwdzialanie-stresowi-obowiazek-pracodawcy,513417.html

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.