myRisks Information

We all need pressure to motivate us; it is a normal part of daily life. Most people thrive on the right amount of pressure, but when things get too much and we start to struggle, we can experience stress.

Stress is not an illness; it’s a state that can come from all parts of our life including our work. It can arise purely from work or purely home, but most often it is a combination of the two.

• Stress is more than just about the amount you have to do. It depends on clarity of your role, how much control you have over your tasks, what support you get to achieve them, how you work with others and the pace of change and how this is communicated to you.
• Normally we can cope with brief periods of stress, but in the longer term, continued stress has the potential to cause psychological and physical ill health.
• Extreme or prolonged pressure might lead to people taking greater risks or cause accidents.

• Managers should be aware of the BBC Stress policy and take action, when required to prevent and manage stress. See the BBC Stress Policy.

For individuals

• Take regular exercise, because it has been shown to be beneficial in counteracting the effects of stress
• Get the right amount of sleep and remember that relaxation time is very important.
• Learn how to manage your time more effectively, maybe on a course.
• Keep a sense of perspective. Problems that seem pressing today can be unimportant tomorrow.
• Remember with any problem there are really only three ways you can tackle it; avoid it, learn to accept it, or attempt to change it.
• Talk specific problems over with someone you trust such as a friend, colleague, or manager, this may be all that is needed to solve a problem.
• Don’t ignore symptoms or struggle on without help. Inform your manager and/or HR if you require help.
• Don’t take refuge in alcohol or un-prescribed drugs. Although a drink can help you calm down in the short term, alcohol will only add to stress in the longer term.

For managers, producers and anyone in charge of staff schedules

• Always consider pressure and stress when planning work activities, particularly: production schedules; rotas, shifts and working patterns; travel to and from locations; hours of work.
• Build in sufficient rest periods, time off duty and include contingency plans to manage overruns. Monitor schedules and make changes if necessary.
• Keep staff informed about what is required of them, discuss their performance and take feedback about how the workload or work pattern might be improved.
• Look out for signs and symptoms in colleagues. This can include unusual mood swings & irritability, poor concentration/ memory, increased emotional reactions, fatigue, headaches, and changes in attendance.
• Line managers have a responsibility to have identified, manage and control the risks of work related stress in their area of responsibility. Results from annual Work Pressure Index Staff Survey, can help signpost Line Managers to the areas of potential stressors in their areas. See "Work Pressure Index: A Guide for Managers".
• Managers can use results from the Work Pressure Index to formulate a stress risk assessment and subsequent Action Plan, which will help to prioritise remedial action. See "BBC Safety's Generic Stress Risk Assessment".
• There are many sources of information to help you; it might be simple as putting it as an agenda item on staff meetings.
• You might need to undertake a risk assessment, for more information see BBC Safety’s Assessment and prevention of organisational stress guidance.

• No division specific issues.

• The BBC Academy runs a number of courses for both managers and individuals to understand stress and how to manage it. See "Under Pressure: Dealing with stress".
• Stress model risk assessments can be found on myRisks to help when an area of stress has been identified and needs to be controlled. See "BBC Safety's Generic Stress Risk Assessment".
• You can call the Employee Assistance Programme (BBC confidential counselling service) on both are available 24/7. They also provide online support from their Workplace Options web site. This is totally confidential and no information is shared with the BBC. Their contact details are in the related links. See "BBC Confidential Counselling".
• Your manager can refer you to Occupational Health for advice, their contact details are in the related links. See "Occ Health Referrals & Advice".