Launching a departmental Stress Survey
Why is the University doing this?
Managing stress has come to the top of the agenda for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and organisations alike. There is an increasing awareness of the impact of stress on both individuals and the organisations they work in. The HSE calculate that work-related stress accounts for over a third of all new incidences of ill health. Furthermore each case of stress-related ill health leads to an average of 30.9 working days lost.
Reducing workplace stress does not just reduce sickness absence, but has many other positive effects including improvements in performance, productivity and commitment to work. It also helps to attract and retain the best possible staff.
Tackling stress is an important part of the University’s commitment to a Positive Working Environment (PWE) where working life productive, rewarding, enjoyable & healthy.
What is the departmental stress survey?
The stress management survey is a 30 item questionnaire designed to highlight sources of stress in the workplace. The question set is based on the six primary stressors identified by the Health and Safety Executive:
- Control
- Role
- Change
- Support
- Demands
- Relationships
When these stressors are well managed we can improve health, well-being and productivity and reduce sickess absence. The Staff Well-being Policy outlines the University’s approach to reducing stress and promoting well-being. Guidelines for Managers offers practical suggestions for improving the working environment for all staff.
Why should my department do a survey?
The survey will provide you with direct feedback from staff that will highlight what they perceive as the barriers to effective working. You can then use this information to develop and implement an action plan to ensure best management practice resulting in:
- Less sickness absence
- Less conflict
- Greater engagement, morale and productivity
- Greater retention of staff
Listening to your staff and are showing that you are willing to make changes to support them can strengthen your own relationships and foster an open and communicative environment.
Who does the survey?
1. Getting started
The Head of Department or other manager in the department should first contact the Health and Safety Office to request a survey.
2. Administration of the survey
The Health and Safety Office will then contact the Head of Department to discuss the survey questions and whether any customisation is required. This could include questions on job type or location to facilitate a breakdown of the results by these criteria. The Health & Safety Office will make all necessary changes and administer the process using Bristol Online Surveys (BOS).
Once the survey is ready launch the HoD will receive an email with a link to the survey. The HoD must then send this to their Department in an explanatory email that can be based on a standard template. Members of staff without email access can complete a hard copy of the survey and return it to the Health and Safety Office. (If the majority of staff in the department do not have access to email the paper based risk assessment contained in the Staff Well-being Policy should be used.)
3. Survey results
HoD’s will be given access to BOS to enable them to view the results and monitor progress through out the process. After the survey has closed, the HoD will be able to view the results online. The colour coded results indicate departmental performance against each of the Management Standards and highlight potential problem areas. The results of the survey will not be shared with any other Department.
4. Making changes
When the survey closes, the Health and Safety Office will send managers a brief analysis report and action plan template and can provide confidential advice to HoDs who would like to discuss their survey results.
It is then the responsibility of the HoD to share and discuss the outcomes of the survey with their staff in the most appropriate way, for example in team meetings. In this way the issues raised can be explored in more detail, and used to construct the action plan.
Repeating the survey
It is recommended that the survey is repeated every two years or earlier if there have been significant changes within the Department. The action plan will be a document that should be updated regularly and used to achieve a system of continuous improvement.