Some of the following resources are websites - from which you can download documents - others are documents or guidelines.
Websites:
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The ACTU Reasonable Hours Campaign, including the Reasonable Hours Test Case Information Kit, research and much more. Fact sheet: Stress at Work [pdf]
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WorkSafe Victoria has recently revamped its Health and Safety Topic webpage on Stress
- European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Topic information page on Stress
- US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) topic: Stress at Work page with links to publications and related pages.
- The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) webpage:
Work related stress has a wealth of information. The HSE recently produced
Management Standards for work-related stress, which has practical advice aimed at anyone with responsibility for tackling work-related stress in an organisation.
UK's TUC, the equivalent of the VTHC, says the standards are an effective tool to assist organizations to identify the causes of workplace stress and implement practical solutions to manage the risks, and has produced a guide for OHS reps to help them encourage their employer to implement them. The guidelines give a background on the problem of stress, outline the standards and what employers must do, explain the process and tells reps where they can get further information. - The Job Stress Network - provides information about and related to Job Strain and Work Stress
Guides:
- Stop Stress at Work - a union guide for workers - an ACTU guide which provides workers and their reps with information to help them deal with work-related stress. With information about the day-to-day working conditions which cause stress and ideas and strategies to help prevent or reduce it, it is available for purchase from the OHS Unit at the ACTU (email ohs@actu.asn.au or phone 03 9664 7302).
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From the UK’s peak union council TUC:
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Tackle the hassle : A step by step powerpoint guide with notes on how to assess the risks of stress and 'tackle the hassle'
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The guide for reps on the HSE (UK’s government OHS authority) Management Standards for Work-related Stress.
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Enough workplace stress: organizing for change: a guide from Canadian public sector union CUPE. It provides all the usual information on the causes and effects of workplace stress, but is also 'a tool for action' for health and safety reps.
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From the Australian Services Union Victorian branch, a number of guides were produced as part of the Stress in the Workplace Project - funded by WorkSafe Victoria. These are: the employer's guide, support person's guide and employee's guide - and can be downloaded from the ASU website.
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From WorkSafe Victoria:
- Stresswise: Preventing Work-Related Stress . This is the Second edition of WorkSafe’s recent guide for employers in the public sector. Also available are a number of attachments, such as the Stresswise Toolkit Worksheet
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Preventing work-related stress for health and safety representatives (HSRs) in the private sector and
Preventing work-related stress for employees in the private sector - both publications are designed to increase awareness and understanding of work-related stress and its causes and knowledge on how to eliminate or reduce work-related stress.
- A set of leaflets for the Public Sector:
- A Comcare publication: Preventing and managing psychological injuries in the workplace - Guide for Managers; Guide for Agency Heads and Senior Managers;
- The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has a great deal of material on stress:
- two Factsheets on Stress: Practical Advice for Workers on Tackling Work-related Stress and its Causes and How to Tackle Psychosocial Issues and Reduce Work-related Stress [these are available in a number of languages ]
- A report
Prevention of psychosocial risks and stress at work in practice
The report presents 20 examples of good practice in preventing psychosocial risks and stress. The examples are all award winners or commended entries in a European competition, run as part of the European Week for Safety and Health at Work 2002. - A special work stress issue of their magazine: Working on Stress (released to coincide with the European Week of Health and Safety 2002)
- A Framework Agreement on Work-Related Stress (October 2004) signed by Europe's social partners (UNICE, ETUC, UEAPME, CEEP) to provide a framework for employers and workers to identify and prevent or manage problems of work-related stress. At the same time the social partners have announced their intention to explore the possibilities of reaching a specific agreement on issues of harassment and violence at work.
- Another report -
Expert forecast on emerging psychosocial risks related to occupational safety and health (OSH)
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Healthy Work - Managing Stress and Fatigue in the Workplace - a guide from the New Zealand Government's Occupational Health and Safety Service. Also on this page is a link to other publications on stress and fatigue.
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Stress Management for Nurses [pdf], from the NSW Nurses Association (NSWNA) with NSW Health.The booklet is an acknowledgement that despite the union’s work towards achieving improvements in nurses’ employment conditions, ‘it remains a fact of life for nurses that we will frequently encounter at situations at work that are physically and emotionally demanding.’
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From the World Health Organisation: Protecting Workers' Health Series No. 6 - Raising awareness of stress at work in developing countries: A modern hazard in a traditional working environment. Advice to employer and worker representatives or full-text, 48 pages [pdf]
- From UK Unions representing workers in education: guidance designed to remedy work-related mental health problems in the sector. The unions' guide aims to provide head teachers with valuable information, both on how to prevent the development of mental health conditions and on how to support staff who do fall ill. It outlines the nature of the problem, the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) stress management standards as a tool for stress reduction and what to do when a member of staff develops a mental health condition. NUT news release and joint union guide, Preventing work-related mental health conditions by tackling stress: Guidance for head teachers [pdf].
Resources:
- From the UK Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) Stress Toolkit
Reports:
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Workplace Stress in Victoria : Developing a Systems Approach. This is a study commissioned by VicHealth and carried out by a team from Melbourne University. The report offers compelling evidence that job stress is substantial contributor to the burden of mental illness, cardio-vascular disease and other physical and mental health problems, and more importantly, it also outlines ways forward to address these issues.