A project set up to help find out what skills and competencies line managers need to manage stress effectively in their teams has scooped top prize in the annual Occupational Psychology Practitioner of the Year awards. The project, carried out by Emma Donaldson-Feilder and Joanna Yarker, of Affinity Health At Work, Goldsmiths College, beat off the challenge of three other short-listed candidates in the competition, held by the Division of Occupational Psychology, British Psychological Society, in London yesterday (18^th October) at the Institute of Directors. Read more about the shortlisted entries.

The project, funded by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) forms the next step in the development of policy for the HSE and builds upon Management Standards for reducing stress at work. It also provides the basis for practical guidance for organisations on how to implement stress management through line managers. The approach used to develop the Management Competencies involved extensive qualitative research and drew on theories of stress management and work design as well as the literature on leadership, resulting in a clear set of behaviours that can be used to inform HR practices and to embed ‘healthy management’ in the workplace.

Presenting the award, Dell EMEA Vice President of Human Resources, AnneHarm Barkema, said: "Stress at work is a massive issue; this project makes a strong contribution to helping manage it more effectively and offers further evidence of the added value that applied occupational psychology delivers in the workplace." Winner Emma Donaldson-Feilder said: "We are really encouraged by this award, which recognises the tangible benefits that our profession can deliver."

Mr Barkema also presented Professor Cary Cooper, CBE, with an inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the occupational psychology profession. Professor Cooper, who is Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University Management School, is one of Britain’s most quoted business gurus and a world authority on stress and its management. The awards event was sponsored by SHL and Kenexa.