RoSPA Press Office : Press Release
October 11, 2002
RoSPA WARNING: SAFETY UNDER STRESS!
Accidents caused by stress are feared to be a hidden killer in the workplace, RoSPA warned today as it issued a 14-point 'Alert' to help tackle the problem.
The Society hopes its initiative will spark a debate among health and safety advisers and safety representatives so that they can share ideas and contribute to guidance on how to stop stress-related accidents.
Stress at Work has been made the theme of this year’s European Week for Safety and Health at Work (October 14-18), but the Society is worried that the effects of stress on safety may have been greatly underestimated.
Ill health caused by stress at work, bullying and even violence have figured in publicity for the 'Week', but the association between stress and accidents is still widely overlooked.
Roger Bibbings, RoSPA Occupational Safety Adviser, said: “More than a million people are injured in occupational accidents each year, but we have no idea in how many cases stress experienced by employees - either in their private lives or at work - may have been a contributory factor.
“What we do know is that one in five people suffer from high levels of work-related stress and over 500,000 people take time off as a result. High stress levels are likely to lead to errors and these can increase the risk of accidents. Employers need to take positive steps to deal with this problem and prevent avoidable deaths and injuries. It is not only the person under stress who is at risk as they could be endangering their colleagues, members of the public and also production.”
RoSPA’s 14-point Safety Under Stress Alert includes warnings that:
- People under stress are more likely to make mistakes at work that can contribute to accidents
- High stress levels can affect concentration, information processing, decision-making and behaviour
- Workers undertaking safety-critical work should be a special focus for stress prevention and support
RoSPA offers one-day courses on managing stress which are being held in Birmingham on, October 31, December 10, February 4, April 1, and June 3, and in Edinburgh on December 2, January 30, March 12, May 14 and September 3. They can also be run in-company with follow-up sessions for employees. For more information, call 0121 248 2244 (Birmingham) and 0131 449 9378 (Edinburgh) or visit www.rospa.com/stress. The Alert can be found at www.rospa.com (go to 'Occupational Safety')
