Early intervention and immediate corrective action

For all work-related ill health, the HSE recommends early intervention as a key aspect of ensuring the best outcome for the employee and employer.

Tackling stress factors

There’s lots of good advice about what to do to tackle stress issues on the HSE’s best practice pages. In particular, there is advice about tackling each of the six factors:

demands – such as workload, work patterns and the work environment
control – such as how much say the person has in the way they do their work
support – such as the encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues
relationships – such as promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour
role – such as whether people understand their role in the organisation and whether the organisation makes sure that they don’t have conflicting roles
change – such as how organisational change (large or small) is managed and communicated in the organisation

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ACAS also provides advice about each of the six factors and how to tackle them in their Stress Advisory handbook.

More information about mental health interventions

NHS Plus has centralised a number of evidence-based guidelines for different occupational and other health issues. The review on Workplace interventions for people with common mental health problems was compiled by the British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF). They have a summary leaflet for health professionals and another for employers and employees. BOHRF’s main findings are summarised here. The summary suggests that for employees who are at high risk of work-related mental ill health, individual rather than organisational approaches are most likely to be effective.

Recognition, resolution and recovery: Early intervention to support psychological health and wellbeing is a reference guide aiming to help managers recognise the warning signs and take action to support at risk employees.

The Peninsula Medical School literature review provides an evidence base for early intervention in sickness absence in the report Avoiding long-term incapacity for work: Developing an early intervention in primary care.

Getting more help

A number of organisations offer help and advice. These are listed below.

Workplace Health Connect is a free, no obligation service set up in partnership with the Health and Safety Executive that provides practical advice on workplace health and safety
Health, Work and Well-being is a government-led scheme, which provides advice to improve the health and well-being of working age people.
Health for Work Adviceline for Small Business is a free service to help you quickly and effectively address the issue of employee ill health, minimise the impact of staff illness, and provide essential support to staff with physical or mental health issues.
The HSE Infoline is the HSE's public enquiry contact centre. Infoline provides access to workplace health and safety information, guidance and expert advice
Mindful Employer is a voluntary and informal network of employers and support organisations which provides information, advice and practical support on mental health issues to the employers in the UK.
Safe and Healthy Working has an advice line for small and medium-sized companies in Scotland. Their website also has useful resources that anyone can use.
NHS Plus offers a range of services to the employers through a national network of over 100 NHS Occupational Health businesses.