Collective stress

Unions make very clear that work-related stress is a collective, rather than an individual problem. For example, the UCU college lecturers’ union sets out in its stress toolkit that while employers “often portray stress as an individual problem, questioning an individual’s capacity to cope, rather than an issue affecting the whole workplace”, ever increasing workloads, hours of work and lack of control over the pace of work and demands on staff all contribute to a ‘stressed out’ workforce.

In online guidance on stress and mental health, the NUJ also lists long working hours, workloads that are near-impossible to achieve, and an aggressive workplace culture as indicators of stress.

In addition, the HSE points to signs of stress in a group:

• disputes and disaffection within the group;

• increase in staff turnover;

• increase in complaints and grievances;

• increased sickness absence;

• increased reports of stress;

• difficulty in attracting new staff;

• poor performance; and

• customer dissatisfaction or complaints.