The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is calling on all employers during Stress Awareness Week 2024 (4-8 November) to carry out their legal duties to prevent work-related stress and support good mental health at work.
HSE figures show the average employee suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety took an average of 19.6 days off work, almost the equivalent of a month’s working days, with an estimated 875,000 cases in 2022/23.
HSE’s Working Minds campaign provides employers with simple steps to prevent days lost due to work-related stress, calling on employers to follow the five “R”s – Reach out and have conversations, Recognise the signs and causes of stress, Respond to any risks you’ve identified, Reflect on actions you’ve agreed and taken, and make it Routine.
The HSE also note that the legal duties for employers are:
- Carry out risk assessments for stress and act on them.
- Take steps to prevent work-related stress.
- Organisations with fewer than five employees don’t have to write anything down (but it is useful to do this, for future review).
- Organisations with five or more employees, are required by law to write the risk assessment down.
There are six main areas that can lead to work-related stress if they are not managed properly. These are: demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. Factors like skills and experience, age, or disability may all affect someone’s ability to cope.
HSE offers employers free risk assessment templates and free online training to help bosses keep their workforce healthy.
Kayleigh Roberts, work-related stress and mental Health Policy Lead at HSE, said: “Our statistics clearly outline that there is a work-related stress issue in Britain and we want this to change. A total of 17.1 million working days were lost in 2022/23, and this figure has a serious cost to the individual and to the business. Employers can make a difference by understanding and fulfilling their legal duty to prevent work-related stress and support good mental health at work.
“That is why we are reminding employers during Stress Awareness Week that it is critical they recognise the signs of work-related stress and get to the root causes behind this issue. Prevention is better than cure and understanding the risks is the first step to preventing them.”
She added: “Although tackling stress may appear daunting for some employers, failing to recognise the signs of work-related stress and acting on them can result in reduced productivity, sickness absence or even losing a valued member of staff. I would urge all employers who are looking for guidance to seek help through our Working Minds campaign, which helps companies follow five simple steps.”
Andrew Berrie, head of corporate partnerships at Mind, said: “We’re delighted to continue to support HSE’s Working Minds campaign. Mind has long been working with employers of different sizes and sectors to help them create mentally healthy workplaces, but as these insights show, this has never been more important.
“While many of us will face pressure in our working lives, unchecked and unmanageable pressures can lead to strain and can have a debilitating effect, resulting in stress. Stress can cause mental health problems, and make existing problems worse. For example, if you often struggle to manage feelings of stress, you might develop a mental health problem like anxiety or depression.
“It is vital that employers take steps to mitigate against work-related stress and create an environment in which employees can have open and honest conversations about triggers of stress and poor mental health. This can start with just a simple, person-centred conversation between managers and their teams.”
