Negotiating a stress policy

Policies on stress, with some provision for counselling, are quite common in large workplaces. However, these do not necessarily translate into good prevention strategies that can deal with stress before it gets to epidemic proportions. Union agreements are one vital way to help workers suffering from stress to tackle the issue in their workplace.

The general Unite union advises: “An effective stress policy can be a useful mechanism to reduce and prevent occupational stress. It is essential that such policies are developed and monitored jointly by management and Unite safety reps.”

It says that the objectives of the policy should be:

• to prevent stress by identifying the causes and eliminating them, to deal with problems as they arise;

• to promote openness and guarantee a ‘blame free’ culture; and

• to provide rehabilitation of employees suffering from stress, for example, through confidential independent counselling.