Using the HSE Management Standards for work-related stress to tackle bullying and harassment

The Management Standards cover six key areas of work design that, if not properly managed, are associated with poor health and wellbeing, lower productivity and increased sickness absence. The six Management Standards cover the primary sources of stress at work:

• Demands — this includes issues such as workload, work patterns and the work environment;

• Control — how much say the person has in the way they do their work;

• Support — this includes the encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues;

• Relationships — this includes promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour;

• Role — whether people understand their role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures that they do not have conflicting roles; and

• Change — how organisational change (large or small) is managed and communicated in the organisation.

The Standard on relationships provides a useful framework for managing the risks associated with bullying and harassment, and can be used by reps to hold management to account. It includes promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour.

The Standard is that employees indicate that they are not subjected to unacceptable behaviours, for example, bullying at work, and systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns. In order to achieve the standard:

• the organisation should promote positive behaviours at work to avoid conflict and ensure fairness;

• employees should share information relevant to their work;

• the organisation should have agreed policies and procedures to prevent or resolve unacceptable behaviour;

• there should be systems in place to enable and encourage managers to deal with unacceptable behaviour; and

• there should be systems in place to enable and encourage employees to report unacceptable behaviour.

In other words, the Standard requires the employer to have a clear anti-bullying and harassment policy in place and to actively implement that policy.