workplace stress

Workplace stress The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines workplace stress as “the process that arises where work demands of various types and combinations exceed the person’s capacity and capability to cope.” This can lead to sickness, absences and high levels of staff turnover within a business: results which are positive for neither the staff nor the company. However, despite claiming that stress at work is widespread throughout the UK, the HSE (2010) also offers strategies designed to alleviate stress and promote general well-being. Also, in the UK there are certain laws in place to ensure all workplaces meet a minimum standard to avoid accidents and unsafe practices which can then lead to illness and stress. For example, the Health and Safety at Work Act which controls the use of dangerous substances, certain emissions and other factors which can pose as a risk (Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, 1974.) This law also ensures employers show their staff a ‘duty of care’ which encompasses their psychological well-being as well as physical, meaning a company can fall short of the law if staff become stressed (Duty of care: a helping hand, 2006.) However, not every country has such guidelines and regulations to adhere to. China, for example, has experienced a burst of economic growth like no other over the last 20 years: no country has ever industrialised so fast, facing such a number of new industries and therefore new potential hazards, in so short a time. It is for these reasons, according to Brown and O’Rourke (2003) that occupational health, safety and well-being are only now coming under question and examination. One company to have faced the effects of large amounts of workplace stress is Ford. Henry Ford first introduced the assembly line method of production in 1908. This involved a number of workers each constantly repeating a different task so as to eventually, at the end of the line, produce a finished car. Through this method, Ford was