The Management Standards are a set of conditions which an organisation should strive to achieve to ensure that the risk of stress in the workplace is suitably and sufficiently minimised.

The organisation’s performance against each of these standards should be carefully assessed and any shortfalls documented. The practical improvements needed to address each one should be listed and a prioritised action plan agreed. These corrective actions should be implemented as soon as is practicable.

Using this process will ensure that your organisation will be able to demonstrate good practice through a step by step risk management approach.

Below is a short précis of the Health & Safety Executive’s Management Standards which we hope will open up the topic for you.

The Management Standards cover six key areas of work design that, if not properly managed, are associated with poor health and well being, lower productivity and sickness absence. They define the ideal conditions which should exist if workplace stress is to be properly controlled:

  
 
Demands
  • An individual’s skills and abilities are matched to the job demands
  • Employees are provided with adequate and achievable demands in relation to their agreed hours of work
  • Jobs are designed to be within the capabilities of employees
  • Employees’ concerns about their work environment are addressed

"Helped me to realise I can say no and to control incoming workload more effectively"

Brian Whittle

  
Control  
  • Employees are encouraged to use their skills and initiative to do their work
  • Where possible employees have control over their pace of work
  • Employees are encouraged to develop new skills to help them undertake new and challenging pieces of work
        
Support      
  • The organisation has policies and procedures to adequately support employees
  • Systems are in place to enable and encourage managers to support their staff
  • Systems are in place to enable and encourage employees to support their colleagues
      
Relationships
  • The organisation promotes positive behaviour at work to avoid conflict and ensure fairness
  • There are agreed policies and procedures to prevent or resolve unacceptable behaviour
  • Systems are in place to enable and encourage employees to report unacceptable behaviour
        
Role        
  • Information is provided to enable employees to understand their roles and responsibilities
  • The organisation ensures that, as far as possible, the requirements it places upon employees are clear
  • Systems are in place to enable employees to raise concerns about any uncertainties or conflicts they have in their role and responsibilities
        
Change        
  • Employees are provided with timely information to enable them to understand the reasons for proposed changes
  • There is adequate consultation with employees on changes and they are given the opportunity to influence them
  • Employees have adequate access to relevant support during changes
        
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