Managing Workplace Stress

The Managing Workplace Stress course from the American Institute of Safety Professionals addresses the psychosocial hazards that cause workplace stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression — conditions that affect worker health, safety performance, productivity, and retention. Workplace stress is not a personal weakness; it is an organisational hazard caused by excessive demands, insufficient control, inadequate support, poor relationships, role ambiguity, and poorly managed change. Like any other workplace hazard, stress can be systematically identified, assessed, and controlled through organisational interventions.

The curriculum covers the six primary psychosocial hazard categories (demands, control, support, relationships, role, change), stress physiology and health effects, psychosocial risk assessment methodology, organisational-level interventions (job design, workload management, management training, communication, participation), individual-level support (EAP, resilience, work-life balance), the relationship between stress and safety performance (stressed workers make more errors), burnout recognition and prevention, legal and regulatory considerations, and the workplace wellbeing programme that integrates stress management into the safety management system. All training is delivered 100% online through the American Institute of Safety Professionals LMS.

Upon completing this program, participants will be able to:

• Identify the six psychosocial hazard categories: demands (workload, pace, hours), control (autonomy, decision-making, skill use), support (management and peer support, resources), relationships (conflict, bullying, harassment), role (clarity, conflict, expectations), and change (how change is managed and communicated).
• Conduct psychosocial risk assessments: using surveys, interviews, focus groups, and organisational data (absence rates, turnover, complaints) to identify which psychosocial hazards are present and which groups are most affected.
• Implement organisational interventions: addressing root causes at the organisational level (workload redistribution, job redesign, management training, communication improvement, participation in decision-making) rather than only providing individual coping strategies.
• Recognise burnout: the three dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, reduced accomplishment), early warning signs, and the organisational conditions that create burnout.
• Design workplace wellbeing programmes: integrating stress management with occupational health, safety management, and HR functions for a comprehensive approach to worker wellbeing.

Core Topics

• Psychosocial Hazard Categories: demands, control, support, relationships, role, change
• Stress Physiology: fight-or-flight, cortisol, chronic stress health effects
• Psychosocial Risk Assessment: surveys, interviews, focus groups, organisational data
• Organisational Interventions: job design, workload, management training, communication
• Individual Support: EAP, resilience training, work-life balance, peer support
• Stress and Safety Performance: error rates, attention, risk-taking, fatigue interaction
• Burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, reduced accomplishment, prevention
• Work Demands Management: workload, pace, hours, deadlines, competing demands
• Control and Autonomy: decision-making, skill use, participation, empowerment
• Support Systems: management support, peer support, resources, mentoring
• Relationships: conflict resolution, anti-bullying, harassment prevention, team culture
• Change Management: communication, consultation, support during change, uncertainty reduction

• No prior training required
• No academic degree required
• All instruction in English

Upon completion, graduates receive an American Institute of Safety Professionals certificate, wallet card, and transcript. Employer-verifiable at amiosp.com/student-verifications.

• Safety managers integrating psychosocial hazards into safety management
• HR managers responsible for employee wellbeing and engagement
• Operations managers whose teams experience high stress
• Supervisors managing workload, relationships, and change in their teams
• Occupational health professionals managing stress-related absence
• Anyone responsible for worker wellbeing programmes

• Managing Workplace Stress — YOU ARE HERE
• Safety Leadership and Supervision (leadership behaviours that affect stress)
• Health and Safety Induction (wellbeing awareness for new workers)
• International Diploma in Industrial Safety Management (psychosocial at diploma depth)