The first Wednesday of November each year is Stress Awareness Day.
Workplace stress is a growing issue. Anything that encourages awareness and discussion of this issue is a good thing. Conflict in the workplace is a significant source of stress, often because issues that arise are not being dealt with in a way that reduces or removes the conflict. Many issues turn into conflict because ‘difficult conversations’ are not taking place when they should or in a sensitive way. Many managers do not feel equipped to undertake difficult conversations and this can cause stress both for them and for the people they manage. These are skills that can be acquired by appropriate training. Many of the soft skills necessary to undertake these sorts of conversations well are the same as the skills that mediators use when addressing conflict.
In addition to training staff to deal with conflict effectively, there are other steps that can be taken to increase awareness of workplace stress. The mental health charity, MIND has suggested that employers should consider creating a Stress Awareness Space in the workplace and encourage employees to participate by sharing advice and tips on how they cope with stress.
Here is an article from HR Review on workplace rights around the issue of stress in the workplace: Read Article
Another article in HR Review on the lack of training that managers have to deal with employees who report mental health issues: https://bit.ly/2Si3rWU
All managers should be trained with at least the basic skills in managing difficult conversations and preferably with skills in handling mental health issues at work.