Posted By Walter Davies I intend to use the HSE stress questionnaire as part of our stress risk assessment. Our HR dept do not want to use a questionnaire until someone shows the first signs of stress - as they fear that people will lie and then start taking time off work before we can take supportive action Has anyone used the HSE questionnaire in a 150+ size company and found a high percentage of stressed people?

Posted By David Bannister Sounds like the same argument often used against health surveillance - "we may be lifting our (ostrich) heads out of the sand" If there's a problem, then there's a problem. As for people taking "sickies" - do they do that now? If so then why? If not, why should they start? Not had lunch yet, hence simplistic response!

Posted By Kieran J Duignan Walter The website to which Neil refers offers an informative and economic approach. The HSE questionnaire actually uses an ergonomic model of work; I've used similar tools to the one you refer to in a company of over 1000 employees at a time of major change (downsizing and eventually splitting of the company). There the HR people were well-led and eager to give a lead on understanding sources of stress and either preventing harmful stress (when possible) or teaching employees at all levels how to manage it healthily and productively. Over 50 years ago, i.e. 1955, a psychologist called George Kelly published the tools used in that company: repertory grids and self-characterisation. The management development manager learned how to administer repertory grids and interpret the data. I worked directly as a counsellor and coach with over 600 of the employees in this company and, to my knowledge, only 1 person was unable to learn to manage his stress level effectively i.e, to the point that he/she was unable to function significantly better than without any professional intervention. From what you've written, the root problem is the failure of the HR profession to learn the elements of health and safety management and to learn how to assess stress validly and competently. To the extent that you have the appropriate knowhow, you are well advised to design appropriate methods of stress management and invite your HR colleagues to learn to use them, with you.

Posted By ddraigice Walter, As part of the Management Regs the company should have a policy of dealing with/preventing stress. PArt of that would be to assess and monitor. You could put it to them that if they aren't doing this then they arent complying with the regs and liable to enforcement action.

Posted By J Knight Yes, we have run the HSE stress tools three times so far, using version 1 (the draft version) as we feel it is less intimidating to complete. We didn't find anything we didn't already suspect was there; by that I mean that we already knew that there were problems in the workplaces concerned; what the tools did was enable us to be much more focused in addressing them as they gave us an analysis to replace what was previously merely knowledge that 'there was a problem'. Jeffrey is dead right in identifying the need for structured follow-up which should involve staff, management and people with some knowledge of team and human relationships, John