Why tackle stress?

Why do we need to tackle work-related stress?

Research has indicated that:

  • about half a million people in the UK experience work-related stress at a level they believe is making them ill;
  • up to 5 million people in the UK feel "very" or "extremely" stressed by their work;
  • a total of 12.8 million working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety in 2003/4;
  • Work-related stress costs society between £3.7 billion and £3.8 billion every year;
  • CBI 2004 survey of 500 firms, found the average private industry worker took 7.2 days off sick per year;
  • Nationally private sector sick-leave costs £1.75 billion with the loss of 25 million working days in 2004.

TUC Safety Representative Annual Surveys show that stress-related illness is amongst the highest causes of anxiety, time off work and physical and psychological damage:

Risks 2000 2002 2004
Slips/Trips 32% 33% 28%
DSE 36% 34% 32%
RSI 41% 37% 40%
Temperatures 31% 23% 19%
Noise 26% 20% 17%
Stress 66% 55% 68%
Stress Factors   2002 2004
Workload 99.4% 79%
Staffing Cuts 64% 49%
Change 63% 47%
Long Hours 55% 37%
Bullying 28%

27%

 

HSE key messages on stress are:

  • Work-related stress is a serious problem;
  • Tackling it effectively can result in significant benefits for organizations;
  • There are practical things that organizations can do to prevent and control work-related stress;
  • Stress is a management issue which a manager can help resolve;
  • The HSE is working with businesses to enable them to manage work-related stress more effectively.

Next: What to do about work-related stress