News / Report outlines steps to combat staff stress

Finance directors could take steps to combat and manage workplace stress in their teams, according to a paper from the HFMA West Midlands Branch research and development committee.

The document, Stress management in finance functions, said finance staff face an increasingly complex and challenging working environment, which could trigger stress. The levels of stress in many finance departments is relatively high, it said, due to the financial pressures on the NHS, the need to hit financial targets and the fact that delivery of savings can occasionally still be seen as a problem for the finance function alone.

Finance teams can face significant extra workload when facilitating reconfiguration plans, supporting sustainability and transformation plans and answering requests for information from regulators. Without adequate transformation, moves to find savings in back-office functions, including finance, through consolidation could risk workforce wellbeing, the research said. 

Stress can lead to low morale, inconsistent work, breakdown of working relationships and poor staff retention. But finance directors can take actions to counteract stress, the report said, by:

• Ensuring there is an up-to-date stress management strategy, tailored to finance staff needs
• Focusing on making the finance department a great place to work and engaging with NHS Future-Focused Finance
• Training managers on their roles and responsibilities in handling stress suffered by staff 
• Clearly describing tasks, ensuring staff have the necessary skills and providing feedback promptly
• Providing access to peer support and counselling.