Management behaviour

Poor management behaviour is often highlighted as a major factor by those suffering from work-related stress so the HSE, in association with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and Investors in People, designed a series of tools to help managers reflect on their behaviour and management style. These help managers to assess whether they currently have the behaviours identified as effective for preventing and reducing stress at work.

The guidance says that line managers have many significant roles to play in managing and tackling stress, identifying and managing those with stress, implementing any organisational stress policy, and communicating about the issue up and down the management chain.

But it says that managers also need to think about their behaviour, and how it can either add to the stress their staff experience or help alleviate the problem. Training is usually given to those going into management but often they are then left to “get on with it” with no checks on how the manager is coping. And it says that it is difficult for managers to get feedback that allows them to assess how their staff are affected by their behaviour — a manager may be doing something that affects their staff but they are unaware of it.

The tools include a self-assessment tool, one that requires input from the manager’s staff (180°) and one that allows input from staff, senior managers and peers (360°).

More information and the tools themselves can be found on the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/stress/mcit.htm