Managing Work-Related Stress Resulting from Conflict, COVID and Other Causes

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.

But what legal responsibilities fall upon employers when it comes to managing issues that impact employee wellbeing? What’s the link between workplace conflict and stress, and what strategies can you adopt? Join us to find out.

15 July at 14:00

Due to its invisible nature, stress is notoriously difficult to identify and manage. However, the financial implications of ignoring workplace conflict – one of the major causes of stress – has been brought into sharp focus thanks to a recent Acas report.

According to the report, 56% of those who experienced work-related conflict in 2018/19 reported stress, anxiety and/or depression. What’s more, the vast majority of these individuals remained at work. This ‘presenteeism’ has a negative impact on productivity, with an estimated annual cost of between £590 million and £2.3 billion.

Workplace conflicts comes in many forms but often stems from unclear job expectations, poor communication, harassment and a toxic environment.

Recent figures produced by the Labour Force Survey (LFS) further support the escalating situation; in 2019/20, the total number of cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety reached 828,000, resulting in 17.9 million working days lost. These statistics are significantly higher than the previous period and it is believed that COVID-19 will have catalysed a further spike in cases.

To help you identify issues early on, fulfil your legal obligations and better support your employees, we’ll be hosting a free 45-minute live webinar on Managing Work-Related Stress Resulting from Conflict, COVID and Other Causes.

Co-hosted by Ellis Whittam’s Regional Health & Safety Manager, Oliver Williams, alongside Healthwork’s Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing, Paul Thorley-Ryder, this interactive webinar will start 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, we will 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 full agenda:

What the law says about managing work-related stress;
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);
Reflective and restorative practice with remedial actions if conflicts persist;
A list of resources to utilise for self-help, and useful referral pathways for further support.

Submit your questions ahead of time via the registration form for our experts to answer live during the session.

Following the webinar, we will be sharing some free useful resources with all attendees to equip you with the tools you need to better handle issues relating to work-related stress, anxiety and mental health within your organisation.

Register below

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Throughout the pandemic, our Employment Law and Health & Safety specialists have continued to produce free, practical guidance and templates for employers.

To access all these resources, plus be notified when new resources are added in relation to COVID-19, register for free now.

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