Stress Risk Assessment Training - in Schools

Introduction

Why is stress risk assessment training important?

Nearly a half-million people suffer from work-related stress, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Other studies show that stress affects around 5 million members of the workforce to some extent, and is estimated to cost businesses £3.7 billion annually.

Employers and employees alike should be prepared to manage stress at the workplace in order to minimise risk to health and productivity.

This essentials of stress risk assessment online training course explains the nature of stress, discusses risk evaluation, and offers simple stress management methods for the workplace. While challenging work can be enjoyable for many, it can also lead to stress and other mental health issues.

Stress can affect anyone regardless of their duty or position, and it increases the risk of illness and injury. By law, employers must take steps to protect their employees from the effects of stress. They must complete a risk assessment and act upon it.

Aims and Objectives 

Participants will be able to:

• Explain the nature of work-related stress and the importance of risk assessment
• Explain the effects of stress-related absence and legal requirements for stress risk assessment
• Identify potential stress risk
• Manage stress risks to minimise their effectsschool.

What is a stress risk assessment?

A stress risk assessment is a cautious inspection of potential sources of work-related stress. These assessments enable managers and workers to determine whether to take additional steps to support employee health. Employers must take reasonable action to protect employees from stress by performing and acting upon stress risk evaluation procedures.

Must employers perform stress risk assessments?

Employers have a legal responsibility to protect employees from stress at work by performing stress risk assessments. Stress risk assessments include not only assessing the risk to employees, but also others who can be affected by work-related activity.

Employers with more than five employees are legally required to record their risk assessments in writing.

How do you do a stress risk assessment?

A stress risk assessment is a simple evaluation of everything in the workplace that can cause stress. The first step of the risk assessment is to identify potential hazards. Here it is vital to involve the workers themselves. You can conduct surveys or speak to them directly. They are most familiar with what factors affect their stress.

After you have identified the hazard, you must determine the level of risk. And identify suitable risk controls to manage the risk of stress to an acceptable level. Not every employee will handle stress in the same way, so again it is important to discuss with them whether the risk controls are effective.

The final steps of risk assessment are to record the results and review them regularly.