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Stress Talking Toolkits

These toolkits are designed to help managers talk with workers as part of their overall approach to preventing and managing work-related stress.

The toolkits should not be used in isolation as your only measure for preventing stress. They help start conversations to identify causes of stress for your workers and identify possible solutions, but you should still manage any identified risks.

They were developed for smaller organisations so they can gather data that larger organisations may gather through surveys. The conversations also can replace the ‘focus group’ element of the Management Standards approach. They can also be used in larger organisations by:

  • managers or team leaders as part of their management role:
    • in performance reviews, sickness absence management or return to work interviews, or one-to-one meetings
    • to develop ‘reasonable adjustments’ to get colleagues back to work
    • in resource and demand planning
  • senior managers:
    • during change management projects
    • to identify good practice that can be shared
    • to test potential interventions (using them before and after implementation to evaluate them)
  • HR:
    • to investigate where stress is identified or where there are multiple cases of stress
    • to develop ‘reasonable adjustments’ for people with mental health issues or returning to work following illness
    • to follow up the results of staff surveys, for example checking or comparing results
  • occupational health providers or employee assistance programmes as a consistent approach to referred cases, whether relating to stress or not, or for data gathering

If the toolkit is being used within a larger organisation it may be necessary to establish a route for managers to pass staff feedback up to the relevant people, for example HR staff, a stress champion or a health and safety team.

Link URLs in this page

  1. Stress at workhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/index.htm
  2. Causeshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/causes.htm
  3. Signshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/signs.htm
  4. Riskhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/risk-assessment.htm
  5. Employeeshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/help-employee.htm
  6. Overview - Mental healthhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/mental-health.htm
  7. Mental health for employeeshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/mental-health-employees.htm
  8. Mental health for line managershttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/mental-health-line-managers.htm
  9. Overview - Management Standardshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/index.htm
  10. Before you start - Prepare the organisationhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/before.htm
  11. Step 1: Identify the risk factorshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/step1/index.htm
  12. Step 2: Who can be harmed and howhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/step2/index.htm
  13. Step 3: Evaluate the riskshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/step3/index.htm
  14. Step 4: Record your findingshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/step4/index.htm
  15. Step 5: Monitor and reviewhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/step5/index.htm
  16. What to do nexthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/whatnext.htm
  17. Do I have to follow the Management Standards approach?https://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/doi.htm
  18. Suicide preventionhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/suicide.htm
  19. Case studieshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/casestudies/index.htm
  20. Reporting a concernhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/reporting-concern.htm
  21. Resourceshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/resources.htm
  22. Stress Talking Toolkithttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/assets/docs/stress-talking-toolkit.pdf
  23. Construction Talking Toolkithttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/assets/docs/talking-toolkit-construction.pdf
  24. Education Talking Toolkithttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/assets/docs/talking-toolkit-education.pdf
  25. NHS England Talking Toolkithttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/assets/docs/talking-toolkit-nhs-england.pdf
  26. NHS Scotland Talking Toolkithttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/assets/docs/talking-toolkit-nhs-scotland.pdf
  27. NHS Wales Talking Toolkithttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/assets/docs/talking-toolkit-nhs-wales.pdf
  28. Atal straen sy'n gysylltiedig â gwaithhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/assets/docs/stress-talking-toolkit-welsh.pdf
  29. Atal straen sy'n gysylltiedig â gwaith mewn ysgolionhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/assets/docs/talking-toolkit-education-welsh.pdf
  30. Atal straen sy'n gysylltiedig â gwaith ym maes adeiladuhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/assets/docs/talking-toolkit-construction-welsh.pdf
  31. Atal straen cysylltiedig â gwaith ar gyfer Gwasanaeth y GIG a Darparwyr Gofal Cymdeithasol yng Nghymruhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/assets/docs/talking-toolkit-nhs-welsh.pdf

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Updated: 2024-02-27