Stress Management: What Can Organisations Do?
By Farhan Shahzad and Sarah Davies-Robertson
In the US government’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for the prevention of Work Related Psychological Disorders, they propose a number of organisational changes to increase organisational and employee wellbeing. These changes include changing the work load and pace so that it matches the capabilities of employees; developing a work schedule that emphasises a suitable congruence between work and home life; an emphasis on job security and career development, changes to the social environment that focuses on social networks and support and job content, which gives the role meaning. These organisational level interventions focus on structural changes that help make the workplace a happy and healthier place. The emphasis is on organisational changes, rather than being employee focused. However, their proposed changes tackle the known organisational level stressors that contribute to employee stress.
Another approach postulated by Cooper and Cartwright (1997) is a three-tier approach to stress management that focuses on primary, secondary and tertiary level interventions. Primary level interventions focus on the organisational level stressor reduction, while secondary level interventions focus on stress management and prevention of the stress escalating. Tertiary level…
