- Have clear role and responsibilities for your staff which they understand
- Regularly review know work pressures such as excessive work deadlines, staffing levels and the need for staff skills development
- Identify jobs where stress has been or is a problem and see what can be done to reduce the risk of stress
- Ensure that instructions and requests to staff are clear and are not conflicting
- Allow flexible work schedule when this is practicable
- Where possible ensure employees have some control of their work tasks and that work has variety
Principles of good management practice
- Take health and safety seriously
- Be aware of the signs of stress and changes in behaviour or performance – spot the signs early to prevent problems escalating
- Where there are relationship problems, tackle these early identify and agree the stress to try and resolve matters
- Visit your team
- Know how long employees are working
- Encourage employees to take their full entitlement of holidays each year
- Provide as good a work environment as possible with the appropriate equipment to do the work efficiently
- If you are concerned about occupational stress use OBU’s Risk Assessment for Occupational Stress Form to identify an address work-related stressors - OBU stress risk assessment for occupational stress (Word doc)
- Make sure you follow up on concerns that employees report to you and report back on steps taken to address their concerns
- Have clear, regular two-way communication with your staff. Are there meetings? Is there the opportunity for informal discussion?
- Recognise and praise individual or group achievement, hard work and effort
- Give supportive and constructive criticism when required
- Provide opportunities for your team to discuss their concerns. Listen sympathetically and take actions to resolve situations where you can
- Communicate and discuss team objectives, mission and values
- Involve your team in proposed changes to staffing, work tasks and responsibilities
- Think through the impact your actions and decision have on your team
- Give time to individual members of staff