Navitas Professional Services

Week 3 Workplace Simulation Activity Topic 1

Individual Task - Workplace Task 10 - Workplace Stress.

Prepare a Blog in Blogger (minimum 300 words) advising employees on how to identify, prevent and manage stress at work.  Keep your message simple and effective.

Student Name: Farhan Khan

The relevant WHS site in my state, Northern Territory is NTWorkSafe.

Work-related stress is the physical, mental, and emotional reactions that occur when a worker perceives the demands of their work exceed their ability or resources to cope. Work-related stress if prolonged and/or severe can cause both psychological and physical harm. The longer that the work-related stresses continue unresolved, the higher the risk that a psychological injury will occur.

Stress is not the same as pressure or workplace demands. Most job roles involve some degree of stress, however when the worker feels they are unable to cope with repeated stressors or there are no support mechanisms to manage the situation, stress can manifest in ways that become detrimental to the worker and the business.  Stress is not an illness in itself but can result in illness or make existing issues worse.

Work-related psychosocial and physical hazards can be connected, and one can affect the other. Workers who do not feel safe at work due to psychosocial hazards can be at risk of developing work-related stress. Workers who are stressed have a higher risk of psychological injury and their concentration and decision-making abilities can be affected, increasing the risk of psychological and physical injury.

Some examples of psychosocial hazards leading to risks are:

·Excessive workloads
·Repetitive work
·Conflicting demands and lack of role clarity
·Aggressive or abusive behaviours, including bullying and violence at the workplace
· Lack of involvement in making decisions that affect the worker and lack of influence over the way the job is done
·Poorly managed organisational change, job insecurity
·Poor work design
·Ineffective communication, lack of support from management or colleagues
·Poor management of return-to-work plans for injured workers

Safe Work Australia’s publication Work-related psychological health and safety: A systematic approach to meeting your duties provides guidance to anyone who has a duty to prevent and manage harm to workers’ psychological health.

Psychosocial hazards may be identified by:

·               inspecting the workplace to see how work is carried out, noting any rushing, delays

·               or work backlogs

·               noticing how people interact with each other during work activities

·               reviewing relevant information and records such as reporting systems including

·               incident reports, workers’ compensation claims, staff surveys, absenteeism, and staff

·               turnover data, and

·               using surveys to gather information from workers, supervisors, and managers.

·               In complex situations you may want to seek advice on specific risk identification and

·               assessment techniques and the help of specialists.

A best practice approach to developing and sustaining a psychologically healthy and safe workplace should focus on mental illness prevention and mental health promotion.

 

Kind regards

Farhan Khan