Work related stress and mental health often go together. The symptoms of stress and common mental health problems are similar, for example, loss of appetite, fatigue and tearfulness can be symptoms of both. Work related stress may trigger an existing mental health problem that the person may otherwise have successfully managed without letting it affect their work.
For people with existing mental health issues, work related stress may worsen their problem. If work related stress reaches a point where it has triggered an existing mental health problem, it becomes hard to separate one from the other.
Driver and Delivery
McLaren has signed up to Construction Better Health, this is a HSE and industry driven initiative aiming to identify processes/illnesses that are harming the individual long-term, in particular: stress/mental illness, respiratory, noise, and reparative works. Part of the SHE Calendar developed for 2017 was to include campaigns on several areas of the Construction Better Health initiative. In order to deliver a clear message that covered all areas, a presentation and supporting documents were produced.
The initial presentation was delivered by SHE managers initially to the McLaren operation and commercial teams on all projects. The actual presentation was broken down into four parts:
- Definition and Statistics from the HSE
- Causations and symptoms of stress
- Control measures and techniques that can combat/reduce stress
- External links to further help
The presentation then was delivered over a period of three months to operatives on the projects, this was backed up by a posters and handouts.
Over 200 operation staff attended the presentation and in excess of 400 operatives attended. The campaign has enabled numerous people, both within our company and externally, to be exposed to what stress is and how it can affect not only themselves, but also their friends and family.
