Mental Health in RMG

[brothermagrew]

FOI requests and information gleened from them can sometimes be a small blessing how often can it be said "now I never ever knew that".

Royal Mail Group does not have a policy specifically dedicated to the management of mental health issues in the workplace. However, all Managers are advised to handle mental health issues on a case by case basis, taking extensive advice and guidance from occupational health services on how best to approach the issue.

Royal Mail maintains records of employees who a) declare that they consider themselves to have a disability / long-term medical condition, or b) occupational health service's advice is that the individual in question has a medical condition which would likely be considered a disability. This information is stored in the individual employee's personal file for use by that person's management team and also by the disability helpline for the purpose of monitoring.

Royal Mail managers receive training regarding general absence management. This training places a high emphasis on the use of occupational health services to provide the guidance required for managers to handle complex medical conditions and any related absences. Managers are encouraged not to attempt to make decisions regarding how medical conditions should be handled without input from a medical advisor.

Royal Mail is currently preparing new learning material covering metal health and we plan to launch this next year. The aim of the package will be to train managers to identify the signs of mental health issues and enable them to recommend appropriate sources of help and support for affected individuals.

[guvenor]

if your off with depression stress anxiety etc takinking bp tablets anti -depressants you wont get any sympathy or help from rm or mgmt only push push until your at breaking point they dont care in personell only getting mail out the door regardless of any individual fact

[BELIAL]

Rabbits;beetroot ;umbilical chord ;tipsy imperial concubine, I feel a directorship coming on

[andy2007]

In my experience, this is a growing problem in RM. And it needs to be addressed ASAP!

[Tman]

Problem there Andy, is that if someone gets stressed working for RM, think how bad it would be for them if they were working outside in the Real World....

[DGP1]

Problem there Andy, is that if someone gets stressed working for RM, think how bad it would be for them if they were working outside in the Real World....

Being given unrealistic targets (and constantly changing ones) don't help anybodies mental health. If RM sorted that out then a lot of the problems wouldn't be as bad. Of course we could all go for engineers jobs where we sit around all day waiting for machines to breakdown

[Tman]

Of course we could all go for engineers jobs where we sit around all day waiting for machines to breakdown

You'd have a hard job...all those cushy jobs are taken.

[POSTMAN]

Problem there Andy, is that if someone gets stressed working for RM, think how bad it would be for them if they were working outside in the Real World....

So because those muppets on the outside world put up with it we should as well?

[andy2007]

Problem there Andy, is that if someone gets stressed working for RM, think how bad it would be for them if they were working outside in the Real World....

I have, worked for other companies. I walked out of my previous job, because they were taking the piss with H&S. And there was no Union to help me fight them. So it was either that, or hang around, untill they killed or injuried me. The problem now, is that there are less jobs available. So if the Union can't protect us, we have little choice. We have to stay, and attempt to cope with problems such as: B&H; H&S problems (sometimes very serious ones); etc.. THAT'S where the problem lies. There's no escape route, except the dole. And many of us would rather attempt to cope with the problems (however serious), rather than live off handouts.

[brothermagrew]

Problem there Andy, is that if someone gets stressed working for RM, think how bad it would be for them if they were working outside in the Real World....

Stress is not the employee's inability to cope with excessive workload or the unwelcome attentions of bullying co-workers and managers; stress is a consequence of the employer's failure to provide a safe system of work as required by the UK Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Problem there Andy, is that if someone gets stressed working for RM, think how bad it would be for them if they were working outside in the Real World....

Well I have and RM is the worst I have seen for

1. Not Recognising that stress exists.
2. Dismissing it as a joke.
3. Using the hard man culture as a way to address it.
4. Having plans in place to tackle it.
5. Helping managers recognise and deal with it.

Ok I was in the forces and they have a "hard man" attitude as well, but the system recognise its causes and has well defined plans and process in place to handle stress and the ultimate version of it PTSD. However I have also worked in small businesses owned and run by 1 to 3 people and they did a better job than RM appears to do.

[zbkids]

Its about time RM tackled this issue properly

[Tman]

Ok I was in the forces and they have a "hard man" attitude as well, but the system recognise its causes and has well defined plans and process in place to handle stress and the ultimate version of it PTSD. However I have also worked in small businesses owned and run by 1 to 3 people and they did a better job than RM appears to do.

I should imagine the forces can be very stressful as could a small one-man-band business, but a postie?
No-one dies, loses millions of pounds, flies planes, cuts diamonds, teaches a class of teenagers, defuses bombs, sells to targets or many other jobs involving stress, it's putting admail through front doors, pure and simple.

So the point remains, if people find this work stressful, how would they get on with a job which really was stressful?

[andy2007]

It's not the WORK, that's stressful. It's the environment were expected to work in. Particularly the attitudes of certain Managers, the cavalier attitude to H&S (unless you have an accident, then it's used as a stick to beat the victim with), etc..

At one time, you could tell your Employer where to stick their job, and have a chance of getting a replacement in a reasonable time scale (I've done so myself), if they really went too far. But now, there aren't enough alternative jobs left. And they know, and exploit that fact. Keeping people trapped, until their health suffers.

As for there not being a risk of people dying on the job, as Posties. Well, I agree it's rare. But injuries, often leading to permanent disability, are far more likley. I doubt that there's anyone on here, who doesn't know someone who's suffered a back, knee, etc., injury. Due to H&S problems at RM (e.g. overweight bags). That type of injury could be decimated, if RM started to take H&S seriously.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

So the point remains, if people find this work stressful, how would they get on with a job which really was stressful?

No, in my opinion the point is invalid because stress is never caused by one factor its is usually the result of many different ones that in one individual add up to high levels of stress and perhaps sickness, whilst in another person who handles stress differently, no symptoms manifest themselves. So someone who feels they cant cope with the stress of being a postie, may well indeed be a good bomb disposal officer because the causes of stress, and how you handle them are different.

The quote below is from a website that explains what I mean by the above, but it does it better than I could. http://www.medicinenet.com/stress/article.htm#what" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In general, stress is related to both external and internal factors. External factors include the physical environment, including your job, your relationships with others, your home, and all the situations, challenges, difficulties, and expectations you're confronted with on a daily basis. Internal factors determine your body's ability to respond to, and deal with, the external stress-inducing factors. Internal factors which influence your ability to handle stress include your nutritional status, overall health and fitness levels, emotional well-being, and the amount of sleep and rest you get.