Stress is and always has been a feature of everyday life. Modern working practices however, and general awareness of the problems that stress can cause, have made complaints about occupational stress far more likely. The Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 puts a duty upon the employer to look after the health, safety and welfare of all their employees, this includes investigation and management of stress related problems in their organisations.

The symptoms of occupational stress are difficult to identify at an organisational level. Many managers comprehend that the organisation has problems when they see high staff turnover, absenteeism and increased sickness and accident rates. Behavioural factors such as careless mistakes, lateness and missed deadlines are less easy to understand. The end result is always the same, poor performance and productivity leading to an organisational decline. The organisational stress indicator aids investigation of possible stress related problems by helping define problems and aid provision of a structure to aid the organisation's decision making.

Simple questionnaires are used to record responses of groups of individuals within four closely defined areas:

• Source of stress
• The individual
• Coping with stress
• The effects of stress

The indicator can be used within an organisation to look at stress within:

• A department
• A management group
• A production or service group
• A percentage of the organisation

The indicator:

• Is best used with groups of twenty people, in informal groups.
• Should be completed by all members of an identified group at the same time.
• Takes 40 minutes to one hour to complete.

The anonymous results would be analysed and a report given back to management.