Back to basics: coping with stress?

IT IS a sad fact that many pub staff will encounter some form of violence in their working lives. It could be witnessing aggressive customers clashing with door supervisors or fights at closing time, or they may even be the victim of an assault themselves. And what can be worse than the incident itself is the aftermath, the psychological effect that a violent experience can have on someone.

Colleagues have an important part to play in providing support in these circumstances, according to conflict resolution consultancy Maybo. Maybo's Brian Edwards paints a disturbing picture of what can happen if the psychological effect of violence is left unchecked. "In the worst case they can go into post-traumatic stress disorder, suffer real psychological harm and cease to function as a human being," he says. "This is tragic for the individual, not to mention bad for your organisation."

Yet it isn't always obvious how badly an individual needs your support. Bar workers, especially males, often don't like to admit to psychological troubles, worrying that they could be perceived as weak.

For these reasons Maybo has recently piloted a post-incident training course for the licensed retail sector with pubcos Spirit Group and Regent Inns. The two-day programme looked at ways of minimising the risk of conflict situations and suggested practical steps to manage recovery after they occur.

Pub managers were alerted to how insensitive handling of staff after violent incidents can exacerbate stress and impede recovery, and the crucial role that line managers have as a direct point of contact for workers was highlighted. The pub groups have since been able to overhaul their policies and introduce more effective practical measures to help stressed-out staff (see box below).

According to Brian, colleague support is often overlooked by businesses which tend to rely on employee assistance programmes based around independently-run helplines. These can provide a safety net, he says, but are no substitute for empathetic practical support and human contact.

"A lot of people think that providing an employee assistance programme absolves them of responsibility," he says.The need for managers to be equipped to deal with post-traumatic stress has long been recognised, he adds, but it is only just starting to be acted upon and incorporated into pub company procedures.

The courses therefore focus on what can be done to manage staff who have gone through violent experiences during the course of work, from help in the immediate aftermath to how to deal with them in the longer term.

When to call in a professional

Counsellor John Hill, a specialist in post-incident support, switched to the profession after years spent as a Whitbread area manager. He became convinced the trade needed stronger provision for post--incident support after finding his licensees suffering in "South East London's violent boozers". He knows more than most about what can be done by colleagues and the line that exists beyond which problems must be referred to a professional.

Only in the very worst cases, he says, will post-traumatic stress become post-traumatic stress disorder, which causes far more grave and long-lasting psychological damage. "Six weeks down the line after an incident they should be well on their way to recovery, not breaking down and crying," John explains. "Most support can be given by line managers, but if symptoms are continuing, then it's certainly time to call on someone like me."

Post-traumatic stress, he says, will usually arrive 36 hours after an incident, when the euphoria victims get "because they are still alive" fades. The next 12 hours is the most crucial period. Here staff must have access to one-to-one support from a colleague.He advises a 'cruel to be kind' policy of allowing victims of violence only minimal time off. The theory is that getting back in the saddle is the most effective way for them to return to normal.

"You can only provide so much assistance, ultimately it's the individual that has to help themselves," he says.

How to spot stress

John Hill advises licensees to look out for the following signs of post-traumatic stress:

Paperwork getting sloppy

Increased levels of drinking and smoking

Tuning out of conversations

Jumping at loud noises

Crying

Feeling sick

Minor accidents in the kitchen due to difficulty concentrating.

Managing the aftermath

Brian Edwards has the following advice on providing post-incident support to a member of staff:

Listen and understand, gauge what effect the incident has had. This kind of support is the most important thing immediately after an incident. The individual may have contravened company policy, but that should only be dealt with at a later stage

Pick up from them what they want done, rather than going into it with preconceived responses. Many people have a stereotype of post-traumatic stress, but every person will respond differently. They may not be happy working in a bar on their own for a while afterwards, for example

Look out for things out of character. Even in the most macho colleague, stress can start festering within them and there can be tell-tale signs, when they act unusually

Other co-workers have an important part to play as well. If the individual is shunned as some kind of pariah, it can have a disastrous effect. Even simple acts like getting together for a drink can be hugely useful

Know where your role ends and that of a specialist begins. Be prepared to refer more serious cases to a counsellor

Keep a watchful eye on how they progress. If they start being unable to function they may need more help from a counsellor or other professional.

Regent Inns

"We were probably not focusing nearly enough on how staff were affected afterwards. Sometimes you don't realise quite what effect it can have." So says Regent Inns risk manager John Walker.

He believes the pub group had overlooked psychological support, focusing too much on analysing the incident and how similar events can be avoided in future.

Since the Maybo course, however, he and three members of Regent Inns' senior staff have held meetings with directors to discuss implementing ideas from the course. These include introducing a dedicated helpline for staff, crucially following this up with one-to-one interviews.

John is unsure about line managers' abilities to deal with staff suffering stress, believing there will be issues with privacy if individuals are forced to approach people they will be working with day-to-day. However, he says that Regent Inns is to start up its own post-incident support training for these employees.

"The most critical thing was making us realise that people need this help, that we need to delve deeper without looking like we are interrogating," he says.