Stress and bullying at work

By Sadiq Vohra

Stress, bullying and harassment

Sadiq Vohra, an employment lawyer at MWR, has been delivering several seminars on stress, bullying and harassment in the workplace. Here he talks about how the issue can impact on workers and what measures they can take to address it.

STRESS IS THE BUZZ WORD OF TODAY – OFTEN DESCRIBED AS A CONDITION OF MODERN LIFE.

But for sufferers, it can have a very negative impact on their daily lives and it affects more people than most realise.

In fact, if you have trouble sleeping, are tired, lack energy or enthusiasm, experience mood swings or loss of appetite, have trouble concentrating, you drink more alcohol than normal, feel a loss of control or daily unexplained feelings of anxiety - then YOU could be suffering from stress.

According to research commissioned by the HSE, around half a million people in the UK experience work-related stress at a level they believe is making them ill.

UP TO FIVE MILLION PEOPLE IN THE UK FEEL “VERY” OR “EXTREMELY” STRESSED BY THEIR JOB AND WORKRELATED STRESS COSTS SOCIETY £3.7 BILLION EVERY YEAR.

Unfortunately, as people’s lives become more pressurised and hectic, stress is becoming a greater part of everyday life. However, the good news is that the HSE recognises that stress is a serious problem and the law also requires businesses to take action to prevent and control work-related stress.

There are also practical measures organisations can take to control and prevent work-related stress, which can have a significant benefit in return. Management Standards have been formulated by the HSE to help tackle key issues of workload, work patterns and the demands of the job.

The standards state that employees should be able to cope with the demands of their job and systems should be in place to respond to any individual concerns.

Employers should give their workers adequate and achievable demands in relation to the agreed hours of work, skills and abilities should be matched to their role and jobs should be designed to be within the capability of the employee.

More importantly, concerns about their work environment should be addressed. To help alleviate stress you should be able to control the pace of your work, be encouraged to develop new skills, have a say in when you take breaks and be consulted over your work patterns.

Change in the workplace can create stress, so to avoid it you should be kept informed and told of the reasons behind it, there should be plenty of consultation with your employer and your bosses should keep you up-to-date with the timetable for change.

Relationships are also another source of stress, so positive behaviour should be promoted at work and you should share information which is relevant to work with your colleagues to avoid conflict and ensure fairness.

However, one of the growing, and more disturbing, contributors to stress is bullying and harassment.
Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour which is intended to undermine, humiliate or injure its victim.

It may be by a group or individual, it’s not always obvious, but either way, it is unwarranted and unwelcome by the victim.

Harassment, on the other hand, is unwanted conduct that affects the dignity of a person in the workplace, which is often related to age, sex, race, disability, religion, nationality or a personal characteristic of the individual.

The actions or comments may be a one-off incident, or ongoing, and they have to be demeaning and unacceptable to the victim. Unfortunately you are not able to make a stand alone complaint about bullying to an Employment Tribunal.

However, workers might be able to bring certain types of complaint under laws covering discrimination and harassment, such as:

  • Sex Discrimination
  • Race Discrimination
  • Disability Discrimination
  • Employment Equality – Sexual Orientation
  • Employment Equality - Religion or Belief Age Discrimination and Harassment regulations should be introduced by December 2006.

    In your workplace there should be policies and procedures in place to support staff – and staff should know how to access them.

    WHATEVER YOU DO – ACT NOW AND DON’T SUFFER IN SILENCE.

    CONTACT: Sadiq Vohra can be contacted at MWR Solicitors on 01772 254201 or sadiq.vohra@mwrlaw.com.