Managing Work-Related Stress Resulting from Conflict, COVID and Other Causes | Useful Resources
Stress, anxiety and mental health have been hot topics in the media throughout the pandemic. Issues such as burnout, workplace conflict and structural changes can take their toll on employees and, if not identified early and dealt with correctly, may over time result in inflated absence levels, a slump in productivity or even employee resignations – all of which come at a huge cost to organisations.
Our free work-related stress resources (available below) aim to equip employers with the guidance, risk assessments and template letters you need to confidently address difficult interpersonal situations.
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COVID-19 | FREE expert guidance for employers, including sample policies, template risk assessments and more
Watch On-Demand
During this interactive webinar on Managing Work-Related Stress Resulting from Conflict, COVID and Other Causes, Ellis Whittam’s Regional Health & Safety Manager, Oliver Williams, starts by explaining, in general terms, what health and safety law demands of employers and how to use risk assessments to identify whether stress is work-related.
Then, in the second half of the session, Healthwork’s Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing, Paul Thorley-Ryder, alongside Healthwork’s Medical Director, James Quigley, share the occupational health strategies you can use to support employees, specifically where the issues have arisen from conflict.
Here’s a breakdown of the agenda:
- What the law says about managing work-related stress and the HSE’s management standards which all employers need to adhere to;
- Using risk assessments to identify underlying issues and pinpoint if they are work-related;
- General wellbeing strategies to implement BEFORE things escalate into conflict;
- Warning signs and how to respond early (support seeking);
- Coping with conflict (assertive self-care and using support resources); and
- Reflective and restorative practice with remedial actions if conflicts persist.
Enter your email address below to watch the webinar.
Resources from the webinar
Employees off work with stress? Use this template letter to invite them to attend a meeting in order to discuss their situation in more detail.
Access a range of useful Occupational Health resources you can recommend to employees to help them cope with managing work-related stress as a result of workplace conflict.
During the session, we invited you to submit your questions to our expert hosts. We have since collated all submissions and a full list of responses in the below FAQ.
Interested in finding out how Occupational Health can support your organisation?
Related Resources | Download for Free
How to Manage Mental Health Related Absences
With levels of such absences continuing to rise and showing no signs of diminishing, now is the time for employers to arm themselves with the knowledge and protocols to tackle these scenarios fairly and compliantly. Read our blog to get to grips with the legal risks.
Workplace Stress: What HR Can Do
Insidious in nature and often detrimental in effect, stress is arguably one of modern life’s greatest plagues. In fact, the World Health Organisation has even dubbed it “the health epidemic of the 21st century”. Read our top tips for HR professionals to makes steps towards improving the overall wellbeing of your organisation.
Employee Burnout
Ever witnessed a normally enthusiastic, hardworking employee start to become irritable and disengaged? If so, they may be exhibiting signs of burnout – and it’s more common than you might think. Our Employment Law team share their top five take-aways for managing burnout.
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Nick Wilson
Director of H&S Services

Oli Williams
Regional H&S Manager
95% Client satisfaction rate - 97% Client retention rate
Proud to support over 35,000 employers across a range of sectors
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The Works
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Culina Group
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Bluestone National Park Resort
“What we recognised in Ellis Whittam is the background that they have. They are able to supply knowledge and experience in a number of disciplines, which enables us to develop our business in a way that’s safe, to do it on time and with a quality to it.”
Debbie Rainbow, Director of Human Resources and Health & Safety
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BeaverFit
“As the company started to get larger, we knew we had to protect our employees and our contractors both onsite and in the offices. Ellis Whittam is exactly what we needed to move the company forward.”
Joanne Beaver, Operations Director
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Choice Care
“We have found Ellis Whittam to be responsive and aligned with our business in terms of our processes and expectations. Their pragmatic approach has proven to be a great fit – nobody wants to be fighting their adviser on basic employment decisions.”
Jonathan Green, COO

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Catalyst Choices
“Ellis Whittam supports our 280 staff members with Employment Law and Health & Safety and has provided quality management training too.”
Lisa Best, Head of Service Delivery
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