if you do too many hours and get stressed about it , you may be referred to occupational health and then you will undergo further action which may involve needing union involvement . this can happen if you claim overtime payments because you are working too many hours
Work-induced stress is now widely recognised as a significant problem in the health service as well as in all other sectors of the economy. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says that workers in health and social care have some of the highest rates of self-reported illness due to stress, anxiety and depression1 .
Much work-related stress is likely to be preventable and NHS organisations have legal obligations to prevent or reduce stress. This should ensure that organisations put a high priority on identifying, reducing and preventing workassociated stress.
The Trades Union Congress says that stress occurs where demands made of individuals do not match the resources available or meet the individual’s needs and motivation. Stress will be the result if the workload is too large for the potential number of workers and time available. Equally, a boring or repetitive task which does not use the potential skills and experience of some individuals will cause them stress.
Stress at work can be caused by a multitude of stressors. In Tackling work-related stress: a manager’s guide to improving and maintaining employee health and well-being, the HSE identified seven broad categories of risk factors for work-related stress. • Culture issues, which could include lack of positive response to stress or health concerns, lack of staff involvement, poor communication, lack of consultation and participation in decision making, and long work hours or lack of rest breaks.
The HSE has been working with the NHS to roll out management standards of good practice which employers can use to measure their performance when tackling a range of issues that can lead to stress. Trusts which undertake the appropriate policies and interventions to manage workplace stress can reduce the risk of legal intervention. However, trusts are also at risk of civil action from employees who have suffered from stress. Showing that they apply policies and procedures to identify and lessen work-related stress among employees is likely to be useful in defending such actions.
https://www.nhsemployers.org/~/media/Employers/Publications/Stress management.pdf
Lets give an example of a nurse who works in the community , on top of all their many responsibilities they have to add in a flu campaign or perhaps covid jabs . if they dont then relatives complain and stress occurs . Community nurses cover GP surgeries and if they build a massive housing estate then they have to carry on regardless providing cover to the many extra people . They wont give extra staff
Managers have very fixed budgets and get a bollocking if they dont meet targets . so one example is you are allowed 1 hour for palliative care , to support folks at home and assess them . 1 hour is not long when folks are dying [ big tabs will know all about this ] . now in order to prioritise care they may reduce this assessment and care time allowed to 30 minutes . you still have to provide the same care and support in less time
this is how stress occurs and if you claim overtime they will just say you were allocated enough toime to do the job . There is HUGE amount of bullying in the NHS and i personally know of 3 who have been severely bullied and left the profession. These are caring nurses trying to provide care
