Managing Work Health and Safety

Questions: 1. List five sources of stress that can be attributed to a persons job role.? 2. Describe how you can plan and prioritise your workload as a stress prevention and management strategy. ? 3. Discuss the protections under workplace legislation for stress-related illness.? 4. Identify and describe the services, both within an organisation or external, which can be accessed to support people suffering from stress-related disorders.? 5. Describe how a person suffering the effects of a stress-related disorder can look after themselves as part of a management strategy.? Answers: 1. The sources of stress that can be attributed to a persons job role include the following: High workloads with unrealistic deadlines that tend to make the people feel rushed, overwhelmed and under pressure. Putting insufficient workloads on the individual that tends to make the individual feel that their skills are underused. Lack of control of the individual on his work activities. Asking the individual to perform a job or task for which the individual is inexperienced or lack the required skills. Weak or ineffective management that makes the individual feel that there does exit any sense of direction (Barling, Kelloway and Frone, 2006). Again over management can also lead to stress that creates a feeling among the individual that he is undervalued which in turn affects their self esteem. 2. Planning and prioritising work acts as a contributing factor in management of workload and thus helps in preventing workload stress. In order to plan and prioritise work, it is required to be performed in a phased approach manner. The steps involved in the process are, Prioritising work and make to-do-list. Reviewing work load regularly Setting realistic deadlines for the allocated job Structuring the workload Avoiding multi-tasking as it acts as a interference in the performance Keeping a log of workload Hence, with the help of performing the above mentioned steps of managing workload, it is required to be reviewed and the work on the highest priority of workload it required to be performed in the earliest manner (Icaew, 2012). This would in turn act as a contributing factor in the reduction and management of workload. 3. For stress related illness at workplace, the employees are protected under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (2004) that place certain duties on the employer in order to protect the employees from stress related illness at workplace. The duties include the fact that the employer should not expose the employees to hazards, should provide the related information together with necessary instructions and training, conduct risk assessments, investigate the injuries and hazards that have been reported by the employees previously and also guides the employees to notify the injuries at workplace to the employer. Thus it strives towards facilitating the employees with a healthy and safe workplace and protecting the employees from stress and stress related illness. In addition to the above act, the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 strives towards ensuring the fact that the management and the employer should clearly identify the areas within the workplace that might cause stress, should assess the risks at regular intervals for determining the areas that demand control and also guide the employer towards controlling the risks by eliminating or minimizing the risks where possible and finally reviewing the controls and their effectiveness (Comcare, 2016). 4. There is an organisation known as the National Anxiety Disorders Organisations Network who provide forum for addressing issues which are relevant to the enhancement and development of services catering to anxiety disorder on a national level. There are member organisations that share information about their personal activities and discuss subjects of common interest, concentrate about dissemination of materials and find out ways to work in a more joint manner (Boss et al., 2016). There is an organisation known as beyond blue who work on a national level and work in partnership with schools, health services, universities and media as well as those individuals who are patients of depression and anxiety. Within the Macquarie University there is the Centre for Emotional Health which engages in research including analysing, treating and preventing depression, anxiety and connected mental health issues. In Victoria, there exists the Anxiety Recovery Centre who provides support, recovery and knowledge services to individuals and their families with respect to anxiety issues. 5. When discussing about stress it occurs at different levels. It can be at home or at work. The level of mental stress is especially very high in workplaces. There are certain steps that have to be followed to ensure that stress can be managed. Physical exercise and healthy diet often helps in controlling stress. A person should follow a work schedule and try his best to stick to the instant work schedule (Richardson and Rothstein, 2008). Food habits and irregular sleep is a huge reason for the increased occurrences of stress. Stress if not controlled can lead to severe mental and physical diseases. The workplace needs to be built in such a way which is consonance with the health and safety regulations of the law of the land. There should be regular consultations with doctors and psychologists by the people suffering from so to ensure that their concerns are addressed in the right manner. The person suffering from stress should regularly take break from the stressful situation by op ting for a vacation with family, attending music concerts and movies (Everly et al., 2000). Mundane life often leads to the occurrence of stressful life. Hence proper rest is necessary between stressful regimes of work. References Barling, J., Kelloway, E. and Frone, M. (2006).Handbook of work stress. 1st ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications. Boss, P., Bryant, C. M., Mancini, J. A. (2016).Family stress management: A contextual approach. Sage Publications. Comcare.gov.au. (2016).Work-related Mental Stress. [online] Available at: https://www.comcare.gov.au/preventing/hazards/psychosocial_hazards/work-related_mental_stress [Accessed 21 Jan. 2017]. Everly, G. S., Flannery, R. B., Mitchell, J. T. (2000). Critical incident stress management (CISM): A review of the literature.Aggression and Violent Behavior,5(1), 23-40. Icaew.com. (2012).10 ways to Prioritise your workload | Business management | Small Business Update | ICAEW. [online] Available at: https://www.icaew.com/en/archive/library/subject-gateways/business-management/strategy-and-planning/small-business-update/10-ways-to-prioritise-your-workload [Accessed 21 Jan. 2017]. Richardson, K. M., Rothstein, H. R. (2008). Effects of occupational stress management intervention programs: a meta-analysis.