Workplace Stress: An Organisational Approach

Abstract

Following the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) proposal that the assessment and control cycle approach, already applied to physical health and safety risks, be adopted to manage stress at work, the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) developed an Organisational Stress Health Audit (OSHA). The OSHA has three tiers: stage one involves the identification of sources of stress and opportunities for risk reduction; stage two investigates areas of major concern and generates further recommendations for risk reduction; and stage three evaluates the effectiveness of the recommendations in reducing risk. This paper presents the application of the OSHA in three organisations in a study commissioned by the Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) and outlines the aims of the study, the methods used and the main results and conclusions of the work.

Citation

Lancaster, R., Butler, M. and Pilkington, A. (1998), "Workplace Stress: An Organisational Approach", Mental Health Review Journal, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 16-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/13619322199800011