Risk news

Managers have a duty of care to help stressed employees, it has been claimed.

According to employee assistance programmes provider Right Corecare, employers need to recognise that staff can be susceptible to burn-outs, especially in the current economic climate when people are working longer hours to earn extra cash and ensure their job is secure.

"If people have access to support they are far more likely to come out with a helpful solution to what they are facing than if they are sitting stewing at home and losing all sense of perspective," commented Kevin Friery, clinical director at Right Corecare.

"When people have got no one to talk to they tend to take action themselves, which sometimes is not the right action. Giving people access to support is really important."

Mr Friery's comments come after the British Standards Institution released a good practice guidance standard to help those assessing psychosocial risk in the workplace.

Stress is one of the most common problems of the modern workplace, affecting around 40 million European workers each year.