The law requires employers to tackle stress .  Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 – they need to assess the risk of stress-related ill health arising from work activities. And under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 – the need to take measures to control that risk.

We would like to point our members and all archaeology employers to resources to help with this from the Health and Safety Executive, their tools and templates. On that webpage one can find a range of resources from an example Stress Policy to A practical guide to managing and supporting people with mental health problems in the workplace.

As presented in the HSE’s resources there are many benefits to tackling stress in the workplace:

 “Tackling stress brings business benefits Research has shown work-related stress to have adverse effects for organisations in terms of:

  • Employee commitment to work
  • Staff performance and productivity
  • Staff turnover and intention to leave
  • Attendance levels
  • Staff recruitment and retention
  • Customer satisfaction
  • Organisational image and reputation
  • Potential litigation

It is also worth thinking about the impact that work-related stress could have on your unit or team. For example, losing one colleague for an extended period with a stress-related illness can have a dramatic impact on the workload and morale of the rest of the team. By taking action to tackle the causes of stress in your workplace, you can prevent or reduce the impact of these problems on your organisation.

Tackling stress prevents ill health There is now convincing evidence that prolonged periods of stress, including work-related stress, have an adverse effect on health. Research provides strong links between stress and physical effects such as heart disease, back pain, headaches, gastrointestinal disturbances or various minor illnesses; and psychological effects such as anxiety and depression Stress can also lead to other behaviours that are harmful to health, such as skipping meals, drinking too much caffeine or alcohol, or smoking. Tackling the causes of stress before they lead to ill health can prevent this from happening.”