Survey reveals stress to be the biggest problem at work

Stress is the biggest problem facing UK workplaces, according to a survey by the Trades Union Congress, published in late October 2006. At the same time, the Health and Safety Executive reported that stress at work costs society almost GBP 4 billion (€5.9 billion) a year.

To mark ‘International stress awareness day’ on 1 November 2006, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) released findings from its 2006 survey of workplace trade union health and safety representatives. The study is conducted every two years and, during the spring and summer of 2006, a total of 3,339 health and safety representatives responded to a questionnaire either online or by post.

Survey findings

Almost two thirds (61%) of the health and safety representatives surveyed cited stress as being their most pressing concern at work. This compares with 58% of respondents in the 2004 survey, and with 56% of those surveyed in 2002. In regional terms, representatives in London were most likely to place stress at the top of their list of workplace hazards (67%) closely followed by those in North West England (65%).

The findings also indicate that stress seems to be a more significant issue in larger workplaces. In companies employing fewer than 50 employees, stress was the top concern for 58% of safety representatives, while in organisations with more than 1,000 employees, the proportion rose to 67% of respondents.

When asked to identify the factors that are most likely to lead to problems with stress at work, over three quarters of the health and safety representatives (76%) stated that excessive workload was to blame. Other issues frequently cited include:

• cuts in staffing levels (57%);

• rapid change (53%);

• long working hours (34%);

• bullying (33%).

The TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, commented:

Stress is a preventable problem and UK employers simply aren’t doing enough to minimise its impact. People who suffer from stress aren’t wimps, and their symptoms can make them really ill. Stressed-out employees are more likely to experience weight loss, high blood pressure, depression and even heart attacks.

HSE figures and management standards

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also marked International stress awareness day by releasing figures which revealed that half a million people in Britain currently experience work-related stress at a level which they believe is making them ill. The HSE estimates that the financial costs to society are around GBP 3.8 billion (€5.6 billion) a year. It argues that ‘the cost of work-related stress is a reality for the one in five people who say they are stressed or very stressed by their work’. The cost to employers – in terms of staff absence and reduced organisational performance – is also deemed ‘significant’.

The HSE stated that stress awareness day was an opportunity for employers to review whether they are doing enough to ‘secure the well-being of their employees and the effective performance of their business’. The organisation promoted its management standards for work-related stress as a ‘widely adopted, practical and usable approach to taking the necessary steps to manage stress and improve well-being in the workplace’. Launched in November 2004 (UK0412104F), these standards aim to provide a measure against which organisations can assess their performance in tackling particular causes of stress, and set out some indicators of good management practice.

Social partner initiatives to tackle stress

Trade unions in the UK have increasingly been seeking to highlight and tackle work-related stress. For instance, the TUC has produced guidelines for health and safety representatives on the HSE standards, with the objective of helping representatives to ensure that their employer takes effective measures to reduce stress. In terms of action by individual trade unions, in November 2006 the University and College Union (UCU) – which claims that stress has made nearly half of all lecturers ill at some time – launched the College and University Support Network, a charity that provides a dedicated national counselling telephone support line for university and college lecturers and their families.

With regard to action in the courts, in a recent high-profile case a health visitor belonging to the Amicus trade union was awarded GBP 140,000 (€206,670) compensation in the High Court in August after being exposed to a ‘health-endangering’ workload. The individual concerned declared that she had suffered two breakdowns when her employer failed to bring in temporary staff to cover for colleagues on sickness or maternity leave.

A recent joint social partner initiative in this area is a leaflet entitled Work-related stress: a guide (3.3Mb PDF) drawn up by the TUC, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the UK section of the European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest (CEEP UK) and the Forum of Private Business. The leaflet was prepared in response to the October 2004 EU-level social partner framework agreement on work-related stress (78Kb PDF) (EU0410206F), and provides a guide to the agreement, relating it to the legislation, guidance and support already present in the UK.

Mark Carley, SPIRE Associates/IRRU, University of Warwick