Control of Work Aspects

The control of work aspects is defined as:

‘How much say the person has in the way they do their work’.

This does not mean, of course, that employees can do anything they like, but rather, describes a working relationship between employee and employer that drives systematic improvement.

According to the Health and safety Executive, work related stress is less likely to occur when:

Employees indicate that they are able to have a say about the way they do their work and that the appropriate systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns.

Delegating Control of Work Aspects

Organisations that allow employees to play a role in the design of their jobs are often the most efficient.

This is because the people performing the jobs day-in, day-out often have the greatest insights into what works and what doesn’t.

Work related stress is minimised when:

• Employees have control over their pace of work.
• Employees are encouraged to use their skills and initiative to do their work.
• Employees are encouraged to develop new skills to help them undertake new and challenging pieces of work.
• The organisation encourages employees to develop their skills.
• Employees have a say over when breaks can be taken.
• Employees are consulted over their work patterns.

When an employees ability to influence how their job is performed is minimal, and they are simply required to ‘do as they are told’, there is an increased risk that work related stress may occur.

This may be due to the job being seen as ‘menial’ or, in some cases, because employer ‘power’ is being used to force compliance.

Solving Work Related Stress

Work related stress tends to be dealt with in one of two principal ways;

• Providing support after the employee has become too stressed to attend work (what we call crisis management), and
• Providing training and support before employees become too stressed (mental health prevention).

Although it may seem obvious that the preventative option is clearly the best solution, the vast majority of employers fail to recognise this and tend to offer support (if at all) only once the employee has become absent from work.

Resilience Training

Lee Psychology have been delivering Resilience Training sessions to the NHS Integrated Care Boards (Sandwell & West Birmingham, The Black Country and Birminham & Solihull ICBs) since 2018.

Our training programmes are based on scientifically proven CBT pronciples and can be delivered as both group training seminars (half and full-days) as well as one-to-one personalised programmes (face-to-face or remotely using Zoom).

CBT Support

If you have employees who are struggling with work related stress (for whatever reason) we are also able to provide support using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Our 10 session CBT course is available in the following formats:

• Self-directed Online course over 10 modules.
• Clinically supported CBT course using our Online course with either 2, 5 or 10 face-to-face sessions (in-clinic or suing Zoom).

If you’d like to find out more about how we can support you and your organisation, then get in touch with Paul.

Business Psychology Support Services

If you’re looking to support your staff with their mental wellness, resilience or general wellbeing, then why not get in touch with Paul to find out more about how we can help.