Workplace Stress costs GB over £530 million

Statistics released by the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) show a dramatic increase in the number of workers suffering from work related stress in Great Britain and the Chair of HSC had a stark reminder for employers on National Stress Awareness Day, "we need to make a conscious effort to tackle workplace stress as we have lost nearly 14 million working days due to stress last year. Workplace stress cannot be eliminated but must be managed with our workforces’ wellbeing in mind".

In 2005/6 work related stress, depression and anxiety cost Great Britain in excess of £530 million. The number of workers who had sought medical advice for what they believed to be work related stress increased by 110,000 to an estimated 530,000.

There are a number of tools available to employers and employees such as the 'Stress Management Standards’ produced by the Health and Safety Executive. These standards provide practical guidance to identify stress in the workplace at an early stage and tackle it effectively.'

The Management Standards cover six key areas of work design that, if not properly managed, are associated with poor health and well-being, lower productivity and increased sickness absence. The six areas are:

• Demands - workload, work patterns and the work environment
• Control - how much say the person has in the way they do their work
• Support - encouragement sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues
• Role - whether people understand their role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures that they do not have conflicting roles
• Change - how organisational change (large or small) is managed and communicated in the organisation

For further information about work related stress and the management standards:

HSE (Health & Saftey Executive)