Stress is the reaction a person has when we perceive the demands of their work exceed their ability or resources to cope.
Employers must do what they can to reduce the psychological risks to workers and others at the workplace. Below are some tips to assist with managing stress.
- Regularly ask your workers how they are going and if there is anything stressing them
- Be well informed with information from official sources, regularly communicate with workers and share relevant information as it comes to hand
- Consult your workers on any risks to their psychological health and how these can be managed
- Provide workers with a point of contact to discuss their concerns and to find workplace information in a central place
- Inform workers about their entitlements if they become unfit for work or have caring responsibilities
- Proactively support workers who you identify may be more at risk of workplace psychological injury (e.g. front line workers or those working from home), and
- Refer workers to appropriate channels to support workplace mental health and well-being, such as employee assistance programs.
More information about work-related psychological health and safety and how to meet your duties can be found in the Safe Work Australia Guide
https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/covid-19-information-workplaces/mental-health-and-covid-19
Support Services
Sharing support services available to employees such as encouraging employees to use your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) if available and creating an internal central point of contact for employees to contact if they have any concerns.
Other free services available are:
Beyond Blue – telephone support and NewAccess, a free online mental health support program.
Centre Care – telephone support.
Headspace– a guided-meditation app.
Lifeline – telephone support.
Mensline Australia – telephone support.
myCompass – a personalised self-help tool for your mental health.
Moodgym – interactive self-help book which helps you to learn and practice skills which can help to prevent and manage symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Samaritans Crisis – telephone support.
Smiling Mind – free mindfulness and meditation app.