A release of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) annual figures for Great Britain confirm that cases of work-related stress are at an 18 year high, with more new cases reported than the previous year.
HSE’s formal definition of work-related stress is “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work.”
The HSE has confirmed that in 2018/19, 602,000 employees are suffering from work-related stress, depression and/or anxiety. As a result, 12.8 million working days are lost in 2018/19, equating to an average of 21.2 days lost per case.
The main factors causing work-related stress, depression or anxiety are workload pressures, increased responsibility, lack of support, organisational changes at work and role uncertainty.
The industry with the highest average stress rates was education, followed by health and social work.
Employers have a duty to protect their employees from work-related stress by assessing the risk and taking the appropriate action to remove the stress.
If you are suffering with stress at work, it is important to speak to someone, for example, a line manager. If you speak to them as soon as possible, it will give your line manager an opportunity to help and resolve the issue. However, if the stress at work is caused by your line manager, you should consider speaking with a trade union representative, employee representative, Human Resources department, employee assistance programme and/or consult your General Practitioner.
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) advocates a holistic, proactive approach to managing health and effective rehabilitation policies. IOSH provides free guidance with useful information about how workplaces can manage stress and rehabilitation.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
If you believe that stress at work is causing you ill-health and your workplace isn’t listening, get in touch today for a free initial consultation. Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page, or call us on 0113 200 9787 to find out how we can help you.
A release of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) annual figures for Great Britain confirm that cases of work-related stress are at an 18 year high, with more new cases reported than the previous year. HSE’s formal definition of work-related stress is “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand…
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