Dealing with stress in the salon

Karly Whittaker, director of The Sarah Hodge Group in Somerset gives her advice on dealing with stress related absence in salons. This isn’t something that you can ignore, as the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) has identified stress as the most common cause of long-term sickness accounting for 10.8 million working days lost!  We have certainly seen an increase in the number of GP’s signing off staff members, in particular young staff with stress, so it is important that as a salon owner you are aware of it and equipped to deal with it properly. You need to have a proper procedure in place Whenever one of our staff is off sick we will conduct a short ‘return to work’ interview.  This allows us to log the cause of the absence and if stress is cited as the cause then we have identified it very quickly and can then put in our follow-up procedures. 1.  To identify the causes of the stress – are they work or home related etc 2.  To identify if there is anything that we can do as employers to help the situation and make changes accordingly 3. Manage and monitor with regular meetings with the person to minimise reoccurrence. Identifying the issues It can be frustrating as a salon owner if you have a staff member who says they are suffering with stress.  But it is important to look at the causes.  If you don’t know what is causing it then you can’t do anything about it.  So it is in both the interest of the staff member and yourself that you sit down and discuss what the causes might be.  It is important that you keep questioning factual.  We have a checklist of questions so that we don’t forget to ask something.  Record all the answers – even if you don’t like them!  At this point we are simply trying to identify if there is a cause that we can do something about! Make Changes if they are necessary No matter what the causes of the stress you may be able, as an employer to help.  For example reducing their hours, changing their shifts, moving them to another salon (if you have one), or perhaps additional training, or reducing responsibilities temporarily.  Of course you have to look at the impact that this will have on your business and on other members of the team, but if something is reasonable and will help that person remain at work and improve their performance then you should do it.  Ensure you keep a record of the measures you have taken. Maintain regular contact Once you have done your initial ‘return to work’ interview and you have spoken to them about the issues and done anything within your power as an employer to solve them, then it is important that you keep regular contact with that person to check on their progress.  You should also offer them an alternative point of contact in the salon in case they feel they can’t go to their direct manager. Phase them back in Don’t be afraid to discuss a phased return to work programme.  Statistics show that staff who return from a period of absence due to stress in a phased in manor are more likely to remain at work and over time gradually build up to their full hours without any more absences, than someone who comes straight back into their full time job after a stress related absence. Stress can be “contagious” Be aware that when you get one person with stress you can suddenly get quite a few claiming the same thing.  It is really important that you know this and that you still treat every single case brought to you in the same manner – so use your procedure, use the same factual questioning as this will quickly identify the ones simply getting on the band wagon. Offering lifestyle advice It might sound a bit old fashioned but it is also important to discuss lifestyle tips that could be making them worse or things that could help them deal with the stress.  We have found this particularly helpful for younger members of staff. However, if you feel that someone really needs some specialist help you should point them in the right direction for outside specialist expertise in the form of their GP or a counsellor. Get advice Don’t be afraid to access legal advice to ensure that you are doing everything you should do as an employer.  We went on a course run by Employment Law in Action who have all the facts and figures and all the information you need to know from a legal prospective. Karly Whittaker is co-director of nine salons and  two Hair and beauty training Academies all based in Somerset and Devon.