The extent of stress at work


The TUC’s latest survey of union health and safety representatives, published in 2014, found that stress is the top concern in UK workplaces.


Over two-thirds of safety reps (67 per cent) taking part in the 11th biennial survey said that stress, and the effect it is having on their colleagues, is one of the main concerns they have to deal with at work.


The survey suggests that stress is a particularly high concern in those public services that have been most affected by austerity, where top-down re-organisations and back-door privatisations are having a huge impact on staff morale and well-being: in the NHS, schools, local government and the civil service.


In September 2015, NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens announced a £5 million plan to improve the health and well-being of health service staff. The drive includes reducing stress and providing health checks covering mental health. Stevens said that “the NHS needs to put its own house in order” and that “creating healthy supportive workplaces is no longer a nice to have, it’s a must do”.


The initiative aims to put into practice the commitment made in the NHS Five Year Forward View that the NHS will set a national example as an employer in the support it offers its own staff to stay healthy. Estimates from Public Health England (PHE) put the cost to the NHS of staff absence due to poor health at £2.4 billion a year before the cost of agency staff and treatment is factored in. The plan includes fully implementing PHE’s Workplace Wellbeing Charter and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on workplace health published earlier this year. Health unions welcomed the initiative.


In December 2015, the TUC published new guidance on Work and well-being. This emphasises that healthy work must lie in the prevention of injuries and illnesses, and changing the workplace through encouraging better working relationships, greater respect for workers, and improved involvement of unions. “Too many workers are still becoming ill through work, and simply introducing “well-being programmes” is not a substitute for stopping workers becoming ill, by addressing issues such as long hours, stress, unsafe conditions and a lack of respect at work,” TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady warned. “All these must be seen as part of the well-being agenda. Employers have much to gain by improving conditions at work, as healthy, happy and motivated staff have a positive impact on productivity.”


The new TUC guide sets out the importance of healthy workplaces and provides advice on how to handle specific issues including stress. It says that stress caused by heavy workloads and demanding work patterns continues to be a massive issue for workers around the UK, with more than 400,000 people suffering from work-related stress every year.


The guide also seeks to ensure that employers are supporting initiatives by PHE, Public Health Wales and Scottish Healthy Working Lives, which are aimed at improving the health and well-being of workers.