1. The extent and impact of work-related stress

What is and isn’t stress?

The HSE health and safety executive describes work-related stress as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them”. Workers feel stress when they can’t cope with pressures and other issues. Although stress is not an illness, it can make you ill and can cause symptoms that affect how workers feel physically and mentally.

“Stress isn’t a psychiatric diagnosis, but it is closely linked to mental health in that stress can cause mental health problems such as anxiety and depression or make existing problems worse, while mental health problems can in turn cause stress,” says the UNISON public services union.

“There is a clear distinction between pressure, which can create a ‘buzz’ and be motivating and work-related stress,” says the RCN nurses’ union. Work-related stress is a major cause of occupational ill health potentially leading to severe physical and psychological conditions.

“It can also lead to human error, increased sickness absence, increases in accidents, high staff turnover and poor retention, all of which will add further pressures to the existing workforce and could affect patient care,” the union adds.