Understanding that workplace stress can have a negative impact on your business is one thing but knowing what measures you can take to mitigate that impact, and that won’t cost you an arm and a leg, can be a matter of concern to SMEs. What are some simple low-cost solutions you can implement to reduce the likelihood of stress affecting your business?
Managing stress
You have a legal duty to manage stress in the workplace and to reduce it in so far as is reasonably practicable. Left unmanaged, stress issues can spiral rapidly causing loss of productivity, increased sickness absence, presenteeism, poor quality of work, etc. In worst case scenarios it can also result in prosecutions, fines and civil liability claims.
Unchecked work-related stress can also impact other staff in the 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, particularly in smaller teams.
The key message here is that, left unchecked, the cost associated with work-related stress and ill health to the business will continue to grow. Tackling this issue has the potential to stem these losses and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the organisation.
Tip. Tackling stress brings business benefits. When preparing a business case, there is a tendency to focus only on the direct cost of an employee being absent. Take into account all the factors so that you can gain a complete picture of the financial benefits from taking the time to invest in your staff.
Tip. Also remember that employees may be suffering from stress for reasons other than work, e.g. relationship difficulties, financial or other health problems, bereavement, etc. You are not responsible for managing these issues but should demonstrate an empathetic approach to make employees feel supported, which can reduce the incidence of burnout, anxiety, and depression.
A shared responsibility
As with most things health and safety related, your approach to tackling work-related stress is not just one person’s responsibility. A shared approach with joint working between management and employees, either directly or via their representatives, is far more likely to succeed when tackling the causes of work-related stress. For example, employees who do the work and understand what causes any problems are often best placed to suggest ways the task could be improved, and you won't know until they ask them.
To get employees involved, you should tell them why you are taking action and emphasise management commitment to making the workplace safer. Involve employees and their representatives, e.g. trade union and health and safety representatives at the beginning of the process to assist in identifying the problems and the solutions.
Consider a steering group. Whilst it is important to involve the entire workforce, having a dedicated project team or steering group may be more effective in tackling work-related stress, as this will help set the overall direction and priorities of the initiative, ensuring alignment with organisational goals. It can also bring together diverse perspectives and expertise, ensuring that all voices are heard and decisions are made collectively, enhancing the overall effectiveness of the project. Tip. It should have individuals who are keen to make a contribution and will be proactive in making suggestions for improvement.
Plan the project
Don't overlook planning. You should check what you already have in place. Don't reinvent the wheel or start from scratch. There will be existing policies, procedures and initiatives that can be used to achieve some of the steps. Implementation of the approach will not happen in a vacuum and there may be other activities to consider when preparing a plan, e.g. if there are changes planned for the near future, how will these impact your plans and, if possible, factor these in.
Tip. Start small and grow. For larger organisations it may be useful to pilot the approach in a section of the organisation so you can learn from experience before rolling it out globally. Ensure that key activities such as surveys and focus groups are not scheduled for peak holiday or busy periods where employees may not be able to participate
Tip. Be realistic and make sure the plan is achievable. Dates for completion and deliverables from the activities should be set, and it should be noted that results will not be instantaneous.
Three key factors to consider when identifying stress within the business are:
- Organisational, which include your existing culture, leadership, resources and communication methods
- Job, which is the task demands, environment, procedures, etc.
- Individual, which accounts for competence, personality, attitude and risk perception
Tip. The HSE’s stress Management Standards, i.e. demands, control, support, relationships, role, change, are freely available and designed to help employers identify and control stress risks systematically. Following these standards meets the duty to treat stress as a workplace hazard and support a “suitable and sufficient” stress risk assessment without buying external tools. If you can demonstrate that you have followed these standards, it will mitigate any punishments from prosecutions, be it via an enforcement action or a civil claim.
Springboard to tackling the issue
Do a simple but “suitable and sufficient” stress risk assessment. The law requires a “suitable and sufficient” assessment of significant risks, including psychological risks; it does not require an expensive consultancy project.
Tip. To help you identify the hazards and appropriate ways of controlling them, use our example Risk Assessment - Occupational Stress document. It covers the generic causes of stress at work and suggests control measures to reduce the risks to an acceptable level. A basic but evidence‑based assessment helps demonstrate compliance and can significantly reduce the risk of negligence claims.
Tip. Consult staff properly and involve them in your risk assessment. Low‑cost steps can include: (1) running short, structured team discussions using HSE “stress talking toolkits” or your own prompts aligned to the six Standards; and (2) using anonymous surveys to identify hotspots of workload, bullying or poor communication. This improves the quality of your risk assessment and provides evidence that you took employees’ concerns seriously.
Smarter work organisation
Research and guidelines emphasis that organisation-wide approaches to managing stress are more effective that isolate strategies. Excessive demands and the organisational culture, e.g. workload, time pressure, long hours, etc. are a core legal and HSE focus. Cost‑effective controls include, but are not limited to:
- prioritisation and work flow management. Managers should agree clear priorities and deadlines. Be flexible in your approach such as postponing non critical tasks during productivity peaks.
- mapping existing jobs and teams against the HSE’s Standards. Look for areas that may be of concern, e.g. where are demands too high, control too low, roles unclear, change unmanaged and so on.
- temporary redistribution of work within the team rather than overtime by already stressed staff.
- align staffing to predictable peaks (rota planning, cross training) to avoid chronic overwork.
Promote a work-life balance. Encourage employees to take time off and avoid working long hours. Getting the balance right on this is important, so be clear on when you expect emails to be answered, etc. If your normal work hours are Monday to Friday, discourage the sending and reading of emails at the weekends, which will enable staff to be better able to switch off.
These measures mainly involve management time, not cash, but they are central to showing reasonable steps were taken to prevent foreseeable harm.
Increase “control” and autonomy
Low autonomy is strongly associated with stress. Giving staff more say in how they meet objectives is usually cost‑neutral. For example, allow staff to sequence tasks, adjust minor procedures and input into rotas where operationally possible. Use team‑based scheduling, where staff swap shifts within agreed parameters. In knowledge roles, focus on outputs rather than presenteeism or rigid hours, subject to working time rules.
Tip. Enhanced control is a recommended HSE measure and can be implemented largely through policy and managerial attitude, demonstrating that you are managing the risk.
Strengthen everyday “support” from managers
Support from line managers and colleagues is a key protective factor and improving it is largely about skills and expectations, not budget. Cost‑effective measures include:
- train managers, even via short internal sessions, to recognise stress signs, hold one to ones, and respond constructively to concerns
- build regular check ins into workload, e.g. monthly wellbeing discussions as part of supervision
- publicise any existing Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) clearly, but emphasise it complements, but does not replace, workload adjustments.
Tip. Lead by example. Managers should embody a healthy work-life balance, open communication, and concern for mental well-being. If a manager is outwardly showing signs of work-related stress it sends a subliminal message to workers that “things might be starting to get out of control”, impacting their mental wellbeing.
Tip. Courts look closely at whether managers responded reasonably when staff raised stress or workload problems and good support can be decisive in establishing whether your organisation has done enough.
Consider the work environment
When considering the physical workspace of an individual undertaking manual tasks, it is crucial to assess several factors to reduce work-related stress. Ensure that their task risk assessments are adequate, e.g. appropriate to the task with robust, easy to follow control measures. Ensure their work environment has enough space and that routes are accessible, clean, and free from hazards. Take into account factors such as temperature, visibility, and weather conditions, as they can impact the safety and comfort of manual tasks. For example, if staff are working in a dark, dingy environment, it will be harder for them to be bright and optimistic. A simple solution could be to improve lighting levels using task lighting. Implement ergonomic principles to optimise the interaction between the worker and the task environment, which can help reduce stress and improve overall well-being.
Address relationships, including anti‑bullying and harassment in practice
Bullying and harassment are major causes of stress and mental ill‑health and can lead to discrimination, harassment and personal injury claims.
Low‑cost controls can include:
- maintaining a clear, accessible anti bullying and harassment policy with simple reporting routes
- training managers to intervene early in conflict and to challenge unacceptable behaviour
- using mediation or facilitated conversations for lower level conflicts before they escalate.
Tip. These steps reduce stress at source and help defend claims under the Equality Act 2010 and Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
Clarify roles and manage “change” properly
Role ambiguity and poorly managed change are classic organisational stressors. To combat this, ensure job descriptions and reporting lines are clear and kept up to date and use induction and supervision to reinforce this. When restructuring, consult staff early, explain the rationale, and provide regular updates; signpost support and listen to feedback. Use FAQs and simple diagrams to show how new structures or processes will work.
These measures mainly require planning and communication, not new expenditure, but they significantly reduce stress and legal risk around organisational change.
Make better use of working time and rest rules
The Working Time Regulations 1998 set minimum standards on hours and rest, therefore organising work to allow breaks is both a legal duty and a powerful stress control.
Cost‑effective actions include:
- enforcing the 20 minute rest break for shifts over six hours and discourage skipping breaks to “get ahead”
- designing rotas to allow proper daily and weekly rest, especially in monotonous or mentally demanding roles
- monitoring patterns of excessive overtime or out of hours email traffic and challenging them.
These steps cost little but reduce fatigue related stress and help avoid working time claims and HSE scrutiny.
Reasonable adjustments for disabled and neurodivergent staff
Adjustments for disabled workers, including those with stress‑related mental health conditions or neurodivergence, are often low‑cost but legally critical. Scheduled rest breaks and access to quiet spaces to manage sensory overload or anxiety costs you little but can go a long way in reducing stress. Minor changes to hours, such as later starts, compressed hours or occasional home working, where this alleviates symptoms will demonstrate that you are treating your employees as individuals and managing their particular needs. It may even mean adjusted duties or redeployment to a less stressful or more suitable role, sometimes on a trial basis, to reduce the risk.
Many such measures cost little beyond planning time but can be decisive in avoiding disability discrimination and failure‑to‑adjust claims.
Simple monitoring and early intervention
Employers are not required to monitor everyone intensively, but once they know of stress or vulnerability they must act reasonably. Cost‑effective monitoring can incorporate existing business tools and data, such as:
- existing HR data, e.g. absence, turnover, grievances, etc. to flag hotspots for closer review
- asking standard wellbeing questions in one to ones and appraisals
- a referral to occupational health (OH) where there are persistent issues. A short OH report can guide proportionate adjustments.
Tip. Recognise and reward employees’ work. Positive feedback can boost their self-esteem and motivation and will go a long way to tackling stress at source.
Early, modest interventions including temporary workload changes, short adjustments to hours, extra supervision and so on are far cheaper than long‑term sickness or litigation.
Communication
Effective communication plays a vital part in engaging teams, providing them with timely information and providing a channel for their views. To be effective, communication should go both ways, so you should listen to the views of employees and answer their concerns. What is communicated will to depend on your organisational structure and the way you choose to implement each step of the approach, but is likely to include:
- messages from the board, or equivalent, demonstrating its support for the project
- project objectives and terms of reference
- a timetable for employee involvement - surveys, focus groups etc
- how to volunteer to participate in activities
- results from staff surveys
- action plans and progress updates
Tip. Use multiple channels in your communications, e.g. noticeboards, emails, staff briefings, etc. and ensure the message is rich in content. Make sure you take into account workers who do not have English as their first-language, neuro-divergent staff, etc. Leaving an information vacuum can seriously undermine what you are trying to achieve, as the vacuum may be quickly filled with rumours and misinformation that may be hard to counter, ironically adding to potential stress and anxiety in the workplace.
Documentation
Finally, good records are a cost‑effective “control measure” in themselves. Keep brief written records of your stress risk assessment and any review. Record consultation with staff and what you changed as a result. Take notes in individual meetings where stress is raised and the ensure that the steps agreed are clearly documented and fully understood. This paperwork is inexpensive to produce but often crucial in defending negligence, discrimination or working time claims.
Cost‑effective stress control is less about expensive wellbeing “add‑ons” and more about using free HSE frameworks and simple internal tools. Organisational tools include managing work and rest breaks sensibly and consulting staff and acting on what they say. Train and support managers to manage the hazard and make practical, low‑cost adjustments including good communication reduce human and productivity costs of stress, along with materially lowering your exposure to negligence, discrimination and health and safety enforcement.
Stress could be having more of an impact on your workplace than you realise - from productivity to team wellbeing.
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