Measuring Stress in the Workplace
January 15 2003
For the first time, the British Safety Council (BSC) has formed a partnership with employment research consultancy, ORC International, to promote the importance of measuring stress in the workplace by using the company's recently launched online survey tool called ORC SAFE (stress analysis for employers).
ORC SAFE was developed to help organisations conduct comprehensive stress audits on their employees. It is a stand-alone tool, which is available both through the Internet and in a paper-based format, and it not only contains a standard set of benchmark questions, but also gives organisations the flexibility to add their own questions to measure specific issues.
ORC SAFE can be used to:
- Identify and measure workplace stress levels
- Assess the possible risks
- Identify potential areas for intervention.
Results are available via a personalised secure Internet site and help pinpoint areas where there are potential stress-related issues. Survey results are also available in an interactive format, allowing organisations the flexibility of further analysis of the data.
David Ballard, director general of the BSC explained why the organisation has chosen to work alongside ORC International to promote ORC SAFE: 'Workplace stress causes lost revenue, time and ill health. However, traditionally employers have taken a reactive approach to stress management, which has proved to be ineffective, costly and risky for many businesses. The number of days taken sick by UK workers because of work-related stress has nearly doubled in the last seven years - rising from 18 million lost working days in 1995, to 33 million days lost in the past 12 months. And new research from the Health and Safety Executive shows that 2.3 million people in the UK claim to be suffering from an illness that they believe was caused - or made worse - by their current or past work. We want to encourage employers to actively reduce the cause and minimise the effects of stress in the workplace. With stress-related illness on the rise, it is no longer acceptable to ignore the effects of stress.'
All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.
