This years European safety for safety and health at work week runs from 19^th to 25^th October. This year the theme is ‘Workplace stress and psychosocial risks’. This is the second year running that this has been the theme reflecting the importance of the subject and the growing concern of this issue.

Organisations are encouraged to run workplace events related to the subject to help raise awareness and the control measures to be taken.

The week comes at a time when a recent study by Harvard Business school and Stanford University concluded that  workplace stress including job insecurity, long working hours (see above article on working hours) and other workplace stressors can damage health, raise the chances of a diagnosed illness and even lead to early death.

There is undoubtedly a growing concern with regard to health and stress in the workplace and organisations need to have procedures in place to help manage workplace stress.

Do you fully understand the levels of stress your employees are experiencing? Use the Cardinus stress indicator tool to benchmark your business against national averages and implement appropriate and targeted initiatives to improve employee well-being, reduce absenteeism and increase productivity in a positive way.

Cardinus can help you to develop a stress management system as part of your overall safety management system. The systems will provide the evidence required to demonstrate that your organisation has acted responsibly and considered the mental health and well-being of your employees.