Stress advice from British Safety Council

Stress is one of the biggest issues facing UK businesses, with the cost of stress put at £6.5 billion. The British Safety Council is adding its voice to the mix and asking workplaces to give due attention to occupational health overall.

Alex Botha, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, said: “Businesses managing risks in their workplace are increasingly seeing occupational health as a priority. A number of factors are contributing – a workforce that is ageing, the changing shape of our economy to one that is more service orientated, the pressures on government and the NHS, with the fact that people are living with illness and disease for longer.

“But with so many pressures on businesses too, and the complexity involved, we recognise that we have an important role to play in providing practical steps on how to address occupational health.

“We draw in the practical experience of thousands of our members dealing with these issues and we share their experiences but also identify what more can, and should, be done.

“What we’ve seen is that in tackling occupational health, a lot of learning can be drawn from the ‘safety’ landscape. So often we see that it is about clear leadership, effective communication, appropriate training, good measurement and management – in a sense, health can be managed ‘like safety’. And the business case is there to support the value of such investments.”

In support of European Health and Safety Week held this week, the British Safety Council is making its guide for employers on managing stress in the workplace freely available until the end of November.

For those interested in how the building materials industry is tackling this challenge, see the November issue of World Cement and the article from Aggregate Industries, ‘Prioritising Employee Health’. The issue will be available online in the week beginning 27 October.

Adapted from press release by Katherine Guenioui

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/24102014/stress-advice-from-british-safety-council-732/