Line Management Competence: The Key To Preventing And Reducing Stress At Work

Work-related stress is a major concern for employers, and the UK Health and Safety Executive has introduced Management Standards for employers to support them in managing stress in the workplace. Managers have a key role to play in minimizing stress-related risks for their staff. Management behaviour has a direct impact on staff wellbeing managers can prevent or cause stress in those they manage. Managers also act as 'gatekeepers' to their employees' exposure to stressful working conditions and are vital to the identification and tackling of stress in the workplace. This means that managers need to understand what behaviours they should show in order to manage their employees in a way that minimizes work-related stress. New research has identified management behaviour/competencies that prevent and reduce stress at work and this paper aims to present this.
The first phase of this research involved interviews with nearly 400 employees and managers, and focus groups with over 50 HR professionals. They were asked for their views on what manager behaviours are important, in terms of behaviours that are effective and behaviours that are ineffective for managing stress in staff. The behaviours identified were grouped into themes to create a framework of 19 management competencies for preventing and reducing stress at work.

• Line Management Competence: The Key To Preventing And Reducing Stress At Work (PDF, 93 Kb)