It's hard to get away from the subject of workplace stress these days and recent estimates suggest that there are almost 7000 new cases of work-related mental health problems in Britain each year.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has brought in tough new rules which require employers to monitor and tackle stress at work - and has made it clear that organisations will face financial penalties if they fail to comply.

There are encouraging signs that organisations are making efforts to tackle the issue, but the problem is that many of them are completely misdirecting their energy and resources.

There has been a huge rush to set up telephone help-lines, establish counselling services and train employees in coping strategies. But although these efforts are well-meant, they fail to get to the real root of the problem.

It's a bit like trying to clean up a dying fish. You can wash off the weed and the slime, but if you put the fish back in a dirty pond it will just get ill again.

Communicate with your employees
Organisations need to take a step back and look at exactly what it is that is putting their employees under such enormous pressure. They need to have an open, honest dialogue with their people to find out what's broke - before they start trying to fix it.

This is a message that businesses don't particularly want to hear. They are afraid that if they ask the questions, they won't like the answers. They imagine having to make huge cultural or operational changes that will cost them dearly.

But what companies generally find is that it's the small, daily hassles of working life that really wind people up. You arrive and there's nowhere to park your car. The phone keeps ringing when you're trying to concentrate. The photocopier has packed up again. Often the smallest changes that can make the biggest difference. Given the opportunity, employees will often help you find simple, imaginative solutions that can be implemented immediately and cost very little.

Those who have the courage to go down this route will find they reap enormous rewards in terms of increased innovation and creativity - and a workforce that is happy to go that extra mile.

If you go about it in the right way, work-related stress is actually quite easy to tackle. Organisations need to shift their mind-sets and start looking at small, local actions that can make a really big difference to how people feel about work.

Dealing with work-related stress is not just about compliance with new regulations. It's about taking a common sense approach to looking after people's mental health so that they are able to perform at peak.

Pressure management model
To tackle stress effectively, organisations need to work their way through three key stages:

Primary

- culture
- process
- audit

Secondary

- training
- risk assessment
- risk appraisal
- policies

Tertiary

- EAP
- counselling
- case management
- promote resources.

Primary intervention seeks to remove or moderate the effect of stress by removing or moderating the source of the problem.

Secondary intervention leaves the source of the problem unaddressed but seeks to moderate or remove the impact on the employee by enhancing their capacity to cope.

Tertiary intervention deals with treatment of someone who is already suffering from pressure/stress to increase their capacity to cope.

Unfortunately, employers tend to start at the wrong end, investing resources in 'solutions' without really knowing what the problem is.

The key is to start at primary level - and get a good, basic understanding of exactly what is causing work-related stress to bubble underneath the surface. Armed with this information, you can identify practical, well-targeted interventions that will have real impact.

Six point plan

1. Investigate

The first step is to take the temperature of the organisation. Are people feeling a bit under pressure or really stressed out? What exactly is it about their jobs that is making them feel this way?

There are now a number of tried and tested tools on the market that can help you gather this information quickly and cost-effectively. In smaller organisations, where a culture of openness and trust exists, just getting people together in a room to talk about the issues can help you build a picture.

2. Monitor Trends

What is the absence rate in your organisation? Why are people off ill? Make sure you have an absence management programme that helps you identify why people are away from work and what you can do to help them return quickly.

Staff retention rates can also help you gauge what's really going on. Do you suffer from high staff turnover? How do you compare with your industry average? Are you using exit interviews to glean valuable information?

3. Think Local

The results of your investigation need to be analysed at local level. You cannot assume, for example, that 'management style' is a problem across the whole business. It may be that this is only an issue in one department, or even one team.

The key is to start from the bottom up and identify precisely what the problem is in different areas of the organisation. Equipped with this level of detail, you will be able to identify specific actions that will make an immediate difference.

4. Communicate and Involve

It is surprising how many organisations just don't talk to their people. But it is the employees on the ground who understand what really makes the business tick and how things can be changed for the better. So involve your people in finding solutions to work-related stress issues.

Often, quite minor changes that cost little or nothing can make a real difference. It could be as simple as changing a shift pattern, for example, or agreeing start and end times for meetings. A good rule of thumb is that if a solution needs sign-off from on high, you are probably thinking too big.

5. Consider the Global Picture

If you identify small pieces of the puzzle, you can then start to put the bigger jigsaw together. Think about whether any themes have come out of your investigation. Have the majority of departments, for example, mentioned lack of flexible working as an issue? Is there an operational problem which keeps coming up as a cause of grief? If so, senior management need to have these issues on their agenda so they can think about how to tackle them on a global scale.

6. Promote Good Mental Health

The Mental Health Foundation has expressed concern that a sizeable number of people are neglecting factors in their lives which would make them more resistant or resilient to mental health problems. It is estimated that one in four of us will have some kind of mental health related episode during our working lives. It therefore makes sense to encourage your people to look after their mental health.

Make sure your employees have access to good quality, healthy food and ample drinking water. Consider making lunchtime or after-work relaxation or exercise classes available. Encourage socialisation and support between employees.