SAFETY - Stress at work

29 May 2009

Stress in the workplace is a serious occupational health and safety issue and can be linked to serious health problems amongst workers such as heart disease, back pain, insomnia, headaches and more.

Studies have shown that workers who suffer from stress are:

Those who have little opportunity to use their skills and who have little authority over decisions
Those who have little control over their work
Those who have heavy workloads

Unions have done a lot of work to get stress recognized as a health and safety issue. They say stress is something that the employer can do something about through actions like hiring more staff, providing better training, changing the expectations, or organising work systems better.

Stressed can also be caused by workplace bullies or other safety risks

Some interesting facts

In Australia, workers compensation for stress-related conditions is estimated at over $200 million every year
Some of the many causes of work-related stress are long hours, inadequate staff, job insecurity, heavy workloads, communicating with other staff, inadequate training, and poor work organisation

Someone who is stressed at work might possess symptoms such as:

Depression
Anxiety
Fatigue
Irritability
Poor work performance
Headaches
Muscular tension
Change in eating habits
Inability to concentrate

A person who is stressed at work can help themselves in a number of ways including:

Talking over concerns with your employer
Making sure you are well organised
Contacting the healthy and safety rep (or union delegate) to express your concerns
Relaxing when you can, and eating a healthy diet
Consulting a Doctor or Physiatrist

It is important for employers to recognise work-related stress as an OHS issue. Employers should ensure:

A safe working environment
Adequate training
Reasonable working hours and breaks
Discussions with employees regarding issues

SAFETY - Stress at work

29 May 2009

Some interesting facts

RELATED WORKSITE LINKS