Work-related stress is not an illness, but if it is prolonged or particularly intense, it can lead to increased problems with ill health. It can have both physical and psychological effects such as heart disease, gastrointestinal disturbances or anxiety and depression. It can lead to an increase in sickness absence, reduced staff morale, reduced performance and a high turnover in staff.

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 employers have a general duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health of their employees at work. More specifically, under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (Regulation 3) employers must assess risks to health and safety from the hazards of work. This includes the risk of employees developing stress-related illness because of their work. Employers should therefore take account of the risk of stress-related ill health when carrying out a risk assessment.

Think About…

Identifying the hazards: Talk to staff to identify if they are having problems with their work. Look at absence records, lateness and staff turnover; this may give you an idea of employee satisfaction and fulfilment levels within their roles. Also, look at workloads and personal factors, some people cope better under pressure than others!

Evaluating the risk: Identify what action has already been taken, for instance, are staff given training on how to recognise stress? Is there someone they can talk to in confidence about stress? You need to look at factors such as organisational culture; demands on the individual; the amount of control an individual has over his work; relationships with other members of staff; management of change or restructuring within the workplace; clearly defined roles for each employee and support, training and factors that may be unique to the individual.   

Finally, you should record your findings, and review and adjust your assessment where necessary. This can be done six monthly or annually, if there is a change in management, or if you become aware of a change in a person’s domestic life.

It is important to recognise that work-related stress is often the result of the combined effect of a number of different factors. Regular communication can help, as can being approachable and able and willing to address the problems that may have contributed to the stress in the first place. Further information on stress is available in the HSE free leaflet  "Working together to reduce stress at work - a guide for employees" Also “Tackling Stress: The Management Standards Approach”