Health and Safety Cultures Report: Workplace Stress Analysis - BN4410

This report delves into the critical issue of workplace stress, examining its multifaceted causes, effects, and the crucial role of health and safety cultures. It explores factors contributing to employee stress, such as low salaries, job dissatisfaction, workload, and poor work environments, while also highlighting stress-related hazards and the impact on both employee well-being and organizational productivity. The report analyzes the significance of risk management in mitigating stress, detailing the risk management cycle and emphasizing the importance of ergonomic design, organizational management, and employee training. Furthermore, it examines the role of organizational policies and national standards in fostering a safe and supportive work environment, particularly within the context of the United Kingdom. The report concludes by underscoring the need for proactive measures, including early detection of stress-related problems and the promotion of positive interactions between leaders and employees, to ensure a healthy and productive workplace. It also explores the importance of policies to reduce stress and improve employee productivity.

Running head: Health and Safety Cultures Across Communities
Health and Safety Cultures Across Communities
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Workplace stress is harmful for physical and emotional responses that can happen
when the job demand of the employee and employee’s satisfaction are not matched. It can
impact on both the employee and the professional productivity of the company. Stress in
workplace can affect physiological and neurological efficacy of a person (Crivelli et al.,
2019). Workplace stress can rise chest pain, nausea, muscle tension, episodes of Fast and
Shallow breathing and other physical problems. It is observed that 50 million people of UK
face workplace stress daily. According to a report, 48% of British population is unstressed in
a week and 12% of them suffered from workplace stress every day (Ajayi, Jones and
Unuigbe, 2019). There are other reports which support the fact of different work stress level
in different level of employees; more than 1 in 10 women have to leave their job for stress.
Almost half of the British population is affected by stress, related to professional lives. This
study will analyze different causes and effects for the workplace stress among the employees
of various organizations in UK (James et al., 2019). This study will also critically analyze the
role of different stress management policies in the lives of employees
Discussion
Low salary, lack of job satisfaction, salary package, gender discrimination, overload
of work, low infrastructure of work environment can be the reason of mental stress in
employees (Boschi, Trenoweth and Sheppard, 2017). There are some stress related hazards of
workplace environments such as monotonous job content, lack of variety, adversative tasks
under stimulating factors present. Long working hours, strict working schedules,
unpredictable and poorly designed shift timings are some predominant causes of workplace
stress in employees. There are some lacks of communication or interaction gap from the side

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of Administration present in the workplace environment. Lack of participation in decision
making, lack of control over work working hours and professional environment hamper
employee’s motivation in workplace(Parker et al., 2017). Different researches have been
observed that excessive work demand and pressure can influence the productivity of a
worker. The massive pressure and professional stress can affect workers knowledge, ability
and skills to provide quality service to the organization. When demand and pressure are
matched with the workers ability and knowledge they can give better production and service
towards the organization. The organizational culture can control quality of work among the
employees. Work stresses are related to the managerial aspects of the organization. If the
aspects of an organization can have the potential to harm individual's ability, then they are
called Stress Related Hazards. Work context is one of the relevant concepts related to
organizational setting which can influence the effectiveness of the employee. Structure of the
company, environmental factors, production, technology, business equipment, marketing
factors and organizational design are some example of work context (Veelen, Sleegers, and
Endedijk, 2017). Status and salary with respect to career development role of employee in
organization, relationships among employee, culture of the organization are some preliminary
factors directly related to work context of an organization. Insecurity regarding job lack of
motivation due to promotional prospects, social value of work, unfair evaluation, and system
having over qualification respect to the job are some barriers for career satisfaction in
worker’s life. In significant role in organization is an absolute factor of the motivation in
employee’s work life. Continuous problem solving of client and conflict with higher
authority affect professional productivity of an organization. Inadequate and unsupportive
approach from leaders would decline the performance of professional team.

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Bullying, sexual harassment, social discrimination are some traumatic factors which
can affect dignity of an employee. Behavioural issues and demeaning conducts motivation of
employee and raise psychiatric disorders in an employee.
Heart disease, digestive system disorder, blood pressure imbalance, musculo-skeleton
disorders are negative outcomes of work stress in worker’s health. The depression, anxiety,
lethargy, lack of concentration and inability of decision making are prevalent symptoms of
declining mental health condition due to work stress (van Den Berg, Burdorf and Robroek,
2017). Cigarette smoking and substance abuse are very common distressing strategies for
stress management among employees. These bad habits not only harm physical health but
also have some negative impact in brain.
To reduce work stress in organization, risk management is very important. Risk
management evaluates potential risk factors of an organization which may cause specific
professional hazards to employees (www.who.int, 2020). Hazards are not limited to the
Employees health and wellbeing but also extend to the productivity of the organization. The
motivated employees are unable to provide best quality service to the organization for better
production or business. Risk management aims to identify the problems in work place and
difficulties face by employees in different circumstances during work hours. There are some
steps in risk management cycle which are mentioned as follows:
1. Analysis of the situation for risk assessment
2. Design a perfect plan for reduce risk related to work stress
3. Action Plan implementation
4. Evaluation of the action plan
5. Assessing the learning outcomes and planning of future action based on evaluation

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Ergonomics, organizational management, and development of workplace design and
organizational environment are the primary ways of prevention to reduce the stress (Bagnara
et al., 2017). Providing education and training to the workers are the example of secondary
prevention to work stress. Development of sensitivity and responsiveness in management
system and enhancement of occupational provisions come under the tertiary prevention
strategies for reducing stress. Well design work environment should provide job role with
proper job description, clear organizational structure for practice, appropriate selection of
trainers and stops. Above discussed methods are the parts of developmental strategies of
professional stress management among employees. Better communication between leaders
and employees can help to increase the quality of work culture. Some of the best strategies
for work design related to Primary secondary and tertiary prevention actions are mentioned
below:
Trainings should involve qualified trainers to interact with employees and motivate them
to attend classes regarding meditation, relaxation, time management and assertiveness
(Meichenbaum, 2017). Better organizational design can help to improve equipment used in
workplace for better physical condition. Better work culture and management system could
develop a more friendly and employee supportive culture in the workplace. Members of
management system should improve or improvise their attitude in a positive way that
employees should feel motivated instead of stress and discriminated by culture or gender.
Early detection of stress related problems can prevent stress in workplace. Early detection
includes some of the parameters as discussed below:
 Regular monitoring of rate job satisfaction among workers is important.
 Health condition of employees should be checked in a regular interval.
 Leaders and members of management should approach in a positive manner and
employee-friendly interactions.

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The various types of the companies and the institutes that service and operate as full time
organizations in the framework of United Kingdom and it is that they are all bound to follow
the national level organizational policies that has been formulated for the welfare of the
employees working in the organizations and there are protocols that are targeted at managing
the stress for the attainment better personnel productivity – is important as well. it is critical
to understand that the employee policies pertaining to staff safety must be targeted at
managing not only the stress and anxiety of the personnel but also to prevent the situations
that can cause burnout and disruption of psychological safety of the employee(Houdmont et
al., 2019). Hence, proper week offs and proper maintenance of office hours by the human
resource department is important and it is also equally important that the same type of
workplace policies, in coherence with the national standards are at practice – in order manage
the stress of the employees in an organizational framework. In United Kingdom, the health
safety executive is appointed according to the national standards and the legislative policies.
In this framework, the demands in terms of workload and disruption in terms of working
environment is important to be managed, in this framework. The control and the assistance in
terms of extending the safety and support is an important work of the health safety officer.
The work of the safety staff is to promote safety through encouragement, resources and the
sponsorship and the various types of behavioral protocols in terms of organizational safety in
addition to the maintenance of workplace standards and healthy social interactions is an
important strategy. Relationships in the workplace are focused to develop the positive
interactions and eliminate the negative ones and the as role of the employees are at times
subjected to confusion and this causes more stress once again and a per the national policies
that are provided at the national framework, encourages to build an organizational culture that
work collaboratively towards the resolution of conflicts and the promotion of safety for all.

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Conclusion
Stress can affect different people in various ways. The experience of work pressure
can be responsible for unusual behavior, dysfunction in neurological process, physical and
mental health disruption among employees. The different reasons for which stress can be
observed in the employees have been discussed. It is to be understood that the productivity of
the organization is directly proportional to the productivity of the employees and an
employee who is stressed while working for long shifts in the company or due to non-
fulfillment of the organizational targets or may be some personal reasons is troubling him or
her a lot and the person is not being able to achieve the work life balance.

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References
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Crivelli, D., Fronda, G., Venturella, I. and Balconi, M., 2019. Stress and neurocognitive
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Houdmont, J., Jachens, L., Randall, R., Colwell, J., & Gardner, S. (2019). Stress management
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in Australia and the UK. Educating for Well-Being in Law: Positive Professional Identities
and Practices (Intersentia), Forthcoming.
Meichenbaum, D., 2017. Stress inoculation training: A preventative and treatment approach.
In The evolution of cognitive behavior therapy (pp. 117-140). Routledge.

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Parker, S.K., Van den Broeck, A. and Holman, D., 2017. Work design influences: A
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van Den Berg, S., Burdorf, A. and Robroek, S.J., 2017. Associations between common
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Veelen, R.V., Sleegers, P.J. and Endedijk, M.D., 2017. Professional learning among school
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