You probably like me as much for my SuperDoc puns as my SuperDoc advice, but this week I’ve discovered a new vibe: SuperDoc straight-talk. So let’s get down to business. Stress is on the rise and we need effective ways of managing it. This means tackling workplace stress in all its stages: from prevention, to early management of a relatively minor stress situation, to a full-blown case where the person may never return to work unless effective steps are taken.

There’s nothing out of the ordinary in enrolling stressed employees in a stress management program.

But I think what we really we need is a stress management program for managers, to assist them in understanding and effectively dealing with the stress of others.

Managers sometimes think that employees opt for stress as a way out, a cop out even. Unfortunately, management disbelief about the problem actually compounds the situation.

I’ve seen patients for whom the reaction of the company to their stress acts as a catalyst sending them off work indefinitely. Not being believed is the final straw.

A year or two ago I saw a woman who worked for the education department in a rural setting. She’d put her heart and soul into developing a new program, travelling extensively and coordinating a disjointed group of people; because it was an area she was passionate about she was willing to put in the hard yards. Her initial manager was supportive, but at a time where she was struggling to cope with the workload, a new manager stepped in and cancelled the program.

She was devastated. Exhausted and overworked, and now with 18 months of effort wasted, she spent the first month at home crying. It wasn’t so much that her new manager didn’t believe that she was stressed; just that the manager was completely oblivious to the gravity of the situation.

There were some minor attempts at communication but nothing commensurate with the severity of her distress.

Studies of post-traumatic stress disorder tell us that early acknowledgement of the issue and supportive care improves outcomes. It’s no different in a workplace stress situation. The response needs to be in line with the intensity of the person’s—not the manager’s—beliefs about the situation.

Some early intervention in this case could have made a huge difference. A call from the senior manager, a meeting with the head of the department, acknowledgement of the situation and working out ways that at least part of the program could be implemented would likely have turned the situation around.

Managers need to understand how much influence they have over workplace stress situations and the devastating effect of not becoming involved.

Sometimes showing them the money makes a difference.

In another case involved a manufacturing worker. My team of SuperDoc assistants and myself were involved from the start. We endeavoured to work directly with the site manager but he wasn’t interested, so we went to the boss of the manufacturing company in question and advised that he was going to have a $200,000 claim on his hands if the site manager didn’t change his behaviour. 

Once it became evident that this was going to be an expensive claim, a phone call was made from the overall manager to the site manager.  Reluctantly the site manager changed his tune, and acknowledged the issues. It turned out that the site had been working their staff seven days a week for the last three months! 

Getting the manager to acknowledge the problems this was causing and eat a hefty slice of humble pie was a job fit for a Super Hero—or an organisation boss. Sometimes, clarity only comes when you bring in the big guns!

Eventually, however, the site manager sat down with the stressed employee and talked through the issues. Just days prior the psychiatrist of the stressed individual had recommended admission to hospital: following the meeting, he was able to approve return to work.

Senior managers can make an enormous difference in the outcomes of stress claims, but they need clarity about what they can do. They need to understand the health and financial cost implications of their actions. Armed with this information and some simple tools to enable them to listen and address the issues, major problems can be turned around.

In stress management programs individuals are taught to be aware of their own response to stressful situations and to develop techniques for coping more effectively.

In stress management programs for management, managers are taught to be aware of their own responses to stressed out workers, and to develop techniques for managing them effectively and supportively.

Sensible, supportive management of other people's stress: now, that’s a prescription this straight-talking SuperDoc is happy to fill!