Pressure is part and parcel of all work and helps to keep us motivated. But excessive pressure can lead to stress, which undermines performance, is costly to employers and can make people ill.
We all experience pressure on a daily basis, and need it to motivate us and enable us to perform at our best. It's when we experience too much pressure without the opportunity to recover that we start to experience stress.
The HSE definition of stress is
"the adverse reaction a person has to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed upon them".
We can all feel stressed at times when we feel as though everything becomes too much, when things get on top of us, or when we feel as though we are unable to cope. It affects us in different ways at different times and is often the result of a combination of factors in our personal and working lives. Work-related stress can be tackled by working with your employer to identify issues at source and agreeing realistic and workable ways to tackle these.
We therefore believe that completion of this Stress Assessment and Management on-line assessment tool is an opportunity to identify, even for those who may not think they are under Stress, any potential problem area.
At the beginning of the assessment you will be asked to select your first or second line manager as your selected line manager. The line manager's report, which is produced following your assessment, will go only to your selected line manager
Whilst the completion of this survey is entirely voluntary, we would encourage everyone to participate in the STREAM on-line assessment as an important first step, in identifying and controlling these pressures to individuals.
Further details can be found at the following URLs:
http://humanresources.intra.bt.com/health/dealing_with_stress/stream-link http://www.cwu.org.uk/default.asp?Step=4&pid=172 http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/
Branch Office: Room 1011, Baynard Hse, 135 Queen Victoria St, London
EC4V 4AA
Tel: 020 7236 5159 Email: office@cwucitywest.org.uk
