See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/272122433

Revised model of organisational stress for use within stress

prevention/management and wellbeing programmes—Brief update

Article  in  International Journal of Health Promotion and Education · January 2003

DOI: 10.1080/14635240.2003.10806222

CITATIONS READS

15 3,026

3 authors, including:

Stephen Palmer Cary Cooper

University of Wales Trinity Saint David The University of Manchester
258 PUBLICATIONS   1,887 CITATIONS    1,311 PUBLICATIONS   43,974 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Counselling Theory, Research and Practice View project

Coaching at the Wales Academy for Professional Practice and Applied Research View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Stephen Palmer on 15 February 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Revised model of organisational stress for use within stress prevention/management and wellbeing programmes – Brief update
Revised model of organisational stress for
use within stress prevention/management
and wellbeing programmes – Brief update
By Stephen Palmer, Honorary Professor of Psychology, City
University; Director, Centre for Stress Management, London, UK;
Cary Cooper, BUPA Professor of Organisational Psychology and
Health, University of Manchester Institute of Science and
Technology, UK; Kate Thomas, Consultant Director, Centre for
Stress Management, London, UK
Key words: work-related stress, stress prevention,
stress management, Health and Safety Executive, risk
assessment, wellbeing programmes.
Abstract
An earlier paper (Palmer et al 2001) introduced a
simple model of organisational stress which can be
used in stress prevention or management programmes
to educate or inform all personnel, including health
professionals, about the relationship between
potential work-related stress hazards, individual and
organisational symptoms of stress, negative outcomes
and financial costs. The key components of the model
relate directly to a Health and Safety Executive
publication (HSE 2001) which focuses on improving
and maintaining employee health and wellbeing.
This paper highlights a slight revision to the model.
Introduction
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE 2001)
published a guide for managers or employers running
business units or departments with 50 or more staff.
Although the HSE guidance is not compulsory for
employers, if they adhere to the guidance they are
likely to be doing enough to comply with the law.
The guide describes a structured five-step, work-
related stress (WRS) risk assessment procedure,
focusing on assessing the workplace hazards and the
subsequent development of a stress prevention
strategy (also see HSE 1998). A useful addition to
the guide to aid health education would have been a
model of stress to underpin the theory and practice
advocated by the document. Palmer and associates
(2001) developed a model of stress that could be used
to explain to employees, including managers, the
relationship between the main stress-related hazards,
the organisational and individual symptoms, and
outcomes discussed in the HSE document (HSE
57
2001). This model of stress has been used at
conferences and during workshops/seminars.
Revised model of stress
The HSE (2001) have found seven key hazards that
can cause stress for employees:
Culture: of the organisation and how it deals with
stress (for example: long hours culture; are
managers receptive to discussing stress with staff?;
racism; sexism; lack of consultation)
Demands: exposure to physical hazards and workload
(for example: poor ventilation; volume and
complexity of work; unrealistic deadlines; shift
work; insufficient personnel)
Control: employee involvement with how they do
their work (for example: control balanced against
International Journal of Health Promotion & Education Volume 41 Number 2 2003 57–58
demands; too much supervision; lack of autonomy)
Relationships: includes all work relationships (for
example: bullying and harassment; conflicts)
Change: its management and communication to staff
(for example: little or no communication with staff
about change; fears of redundancy)
Role: employee’s understanding of role; jobs clearly
defined (for example: conflicting roles; vague job
descriptions)
Support, training and factors unique to the individual:
support from peers and line managers; training for
core functions of job; catering for individual unique
differences
Although these seven hazards were included in
the original model of stress (Palmer et al 2001), for
diagrammatic ease, support, training and factors
unique to the individual were subsumed into one
category. However, in the revised model of stress (see
Figure 1) all three are now included, still in one box
as this reflects the HSE (2001) document. This
completes the picture and aids comprehension. The
1995–1996 figures for the financial cost of stress have
been used in the model as these were the figures
58 Revised model of organisational stress for use within stress prevention/management and wellbeing programmes – Brief update

FIGURE 1: Model of work stress (Palmer & Cooper, 2003)

Model of Work Stress

Potential Hazards Symptoms of Stress Negative Financial
Individual symptoms Outcomes Cost
1 Culture
•Raised blood pressure (1995-6)
•Coronary heart
•Sleep & gastrointestinal disease
2 Demands disturbances •RSI
E •Increased alcohol •Clinical anxiety £3.75bn
and depression
3 Control M and/or caffeine
and/or nicotine intake •Burnout
P •Increased irritability &
negative emotions
4 Role L •Back pains; tension
•Palpitations; headaches
O Organisational
5 Change Y symptoms •Increased over-
heads
•Increased sickness e.g. recruiting,
E absence training £370m
6 Relationships •Long hours culture
E •Increased staff turnover
•Reduced profits
•Increased
7 Support
S •Reduced staff
performance
accidents
•Increased
Training •Reduced staff morale & litigation
Unique loyalty
factors •Increased hostility
© Palmer & Cooper, 2003

provided by the HSE in the document. Figures
provided by other organisations suggest that these
are an underestimate.
The model of stress is self-explanatory, although
it is useful to explain it in more depth to employees
attending a stress management course or seminar,
encouraging them to provide examples of the hazards
they recognise within their own organisation or
department (see Palmer et al 2003, Sutherland and
Cooper 2001). Stress prevention seminars or
International Journal of Health Promotion & Education Volume 41 Number 2 2003 57–58
Theory to Work, CRR61. London: Health and Safety
Executive.
Employment and Social Affairs (1999). Health and Safety
at Work. Guidance on Work Related Stress – Spice of Life
– or Kiss of Death? Luxembourg: European Com-
mission.
Health and Safety Executive (1998). 5 Steps to Risk
Assessment INDG163 (rev). Sudbury: Health and Safety
Executive.
Health and Safety Executive (2001). Tackling Work-related

workshops designed for managers can include a group Stress: A Managers’ Guide to Improving and Maintaining
activity whereby they develop a proactive action plan Employee Health and Well-being. Sudbury: Health and
to assess and tackle the WRS hazards in their Safety Executive.
organisation. The emphasis should be on hazard Palmer S, Cooper C, Thomas K (2001). Model of
elimination or reduction and not solely on stress organisational stress for use within an occupational
counselling or pressure management courses (Cooper health education/promotion or wellbeing programme
et al 2001, Cox 1993, Employment and Social Affairs – A short communication. Health Education Journal,
1999, Sutherland and Cooper 2001). 60(4), 378–380.
Palmer S, Cooper C, Thomas K (2003). Creating a Balance:
Conclusion Managing Stress. London: British Library.
Sutherland V, Cooper CL (2001). Strategic Stress Manage-
The revised model of work-related organisational ment: An Organizational Approach. London: Macmillan
stress proposed in this paper is simple to use, Books.
highlights areas for assessment and intervention, and
can be used as a training resource within health
Address for correspondence
education, wellbeing and stress management/
prevention programmes. Stephen Palmer
Centre for Stress Management
References PO Box 26583
LONDON
Cooper CL, Dewe P, O’Driscoll M (2001). Organisational SE3 7EZ
Stress. London: Sage Publications. UK
Cox T (1993). Stress Research and Stress Management: Putting Email: dr.palmer@btinternet.com ‹

View publication stats