Completing a Stress Risk Assessment

Many of you will already be involved in risk assessment in your roles at the University, whether related to COSHH, DSE use, moving and handling, and many other health & safety regulations. We have long since accepted that we must assess the risk of harm to our physical health, but what about our mental health?  The same applies.

Although stress is not in itself a medical condition, it can have an adverse impact on both our physical health and mental health, and therefore needs to be subject to risk assessment.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) have created a structure called the Management Standards for workplace stress. This is designed to help employers with workplace stress risk assessment. It highlights six key areas of work that, if not managed properly, can result in work-related stress.

Managers should actively monitor stress within their teams – either with individuals, the team as a whole, or both. Engaging with your manager in this process will help to ensure that your views about work are heard – whether about workload, working relationships, change at work, control over your work, and other aspects. It will also allow you to have a say about how concerns are resolved.

Resources

Workplace Pressures Risk Assessment tools – individual and team (also known as stress risk assessment)

Managers’ guide to Completing a Stress Risk Assessment

The HSE Stress Workbook (includes examples of proactive measures to prevent or reduce stress at work)