Carrying out Organizational Risk Assessment.
Organizational stress is harmful emotional or physical responses that occur in the body of an individual due to the requirements of the job not matching with the capabilities of the individual. As a result of this the employee is prone to ill health and in extreme cases injury. Furthermore, the individual’s productivity can be adversely affected. Due to these factors, an organizational stress risk assessment needs to be carried out in any workplace (University of Glasgow).
The likelihood that employees might get stressed, can be analysed by having a look at the potential hazards that such as an individual is exposed to (“Occupational Safety,” 2017). These factors have been identified by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and they are known to be the major contributors to work-related stress. These factors also form the basis for organizational stress risk management (Davidson, 2012).
The first factor is demand of the tasks. The issues to be considered under this are the nature of the work and volume of work. In which case the analysis should check whether such an individual can handle the volume of work. The nature of environment is also very important some might be high pressure environments while others can allow for a stress free approach to work. Under this factor another issue that needs to be analysed is the deadlines for tasks some tasks may offer an easier approach to tasks while others require intense periods of activity. These considerations, enable one realise the demands placed on worker and help solve some of these issues to avoid stress (Brunner, 2009).
The second factor is control. This relates to the extent to which an employee can manage their workload, work speed, work dependant priorities, the scheduling of breaks flexibility to carry out tasks and the timelines of the tasks to be carried out. Intense work for instance can be made easier by adopting flexible work schedules, taking regular breaks and individuals being given lighter workloads.
The third factor to be considered is the role of the employee. It is prudent to analyze how well the individual understands their role, how to carry it out and the relationship of these tasks to other individuals working in the same work environment. In this light, it is important to check how individual employees understand the responsibilities bestowed upon them by their different posts. As a result of this, they are able to support the objectives of the organization (“HSE: Information about health and safety at work,” 2018).
The fourth factor is relationships in the workplace. It would be prudent to assess if there has been a history of strained working relationships between employees or with management (“Research in Occupational Stress and Well-being,” 2009). Other issues include changes that are likely to have an adverse effect on working relationships and cases of bullying or harassment that are likely to introduce work related stress.
The fifth factor is having a background check on managers because they can be a source of stress. Their issues that need to be checked include their leadership skills some managers may be lacking in such skills which may have an adverse effect on the ability of employees to carry out their tasks. Other issues include harassment by management to employees and management being unfamiliar with employee based policies (Healey, 2009).
The sixth factor that needs to be assessed is support between colleagues. Some of the issues to look out for include complaints by employees against others, check out for employees who carry out their activities independently who are egocentric and don’t contribute to team goals as well as investigating the likelihood of disrespectful behaviour between employees (McCormack & Cotter, 2013).
The seventh issue to be analysed in this assessment id changes in the organization. Changes in the organisation may have an impact on the morale of employees. Thus it is important to find out whether such a change draws a negative feedback from employees, causes apprehension among employees.
These factors form the basis of coming up with an organizational stress risk assessment so that the welfare of employees can be looked into and as a result of this, work related stress is avoided.
References
Brunner, E. (2009). Health inequalities and the role of psychosocial work factors: the Whitehall II Study. Social inequality and public health, 114-130. doi:10.1332/policypress/9781847423207.003.0008
Davidson, J. P. (2012). A system for managing work related stress. Issaquah, Wash.: Made for Success.
Healey, J. (2009). Managing stress. Thirroul, N.S.W: Spinney Press.
HSE: Information about health and safety at work. (2018, February 20). Retrieved from http://www.hse.gov.uk/index.html
McCormack, N., & Cotter, C. (2013). Gender, burnout and work-related stress. Managing Burnout in the Workplace, 137-150. doi:10.1016/b978-1-84334-734-7.50007-4
Occupational Safety. (2017). Occupational Safety and Health, 17-20. doi:10.1201/9781315269603-5
Research in Occupational Stress and Well-being. (2009). Research in Occupational Stress and Well-being. doi:10.1108/s1479-3555(2009)0000007013
University of Glasgow. (n.d.). Guidance on General Risk Assessment for Work-Related Stress. Retrieved from https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_313563_en.pdf
University of Glasgow. (n.d.). Management of Stress in the Workplace – a Manager’s Guide. Retrieved from https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_518572_en.pdf
