‘Workplace stress is estimated to be the biggest occupational health problem in the UK after musculoskeletal disorders’, says mental health charity, MIND in its just published report Stress and mental health in the workplace.

The report adds: ‘In a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report on work related stress, 20 per cent of respondents suffered from stress at levels described as “very” or “extremely stressful”.

‘The most common stress related complaints presented to GPs are depression and anxiety and are reported to affect 20 per cent of the UK working population.

‘Mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, now account for more Incapacity Benefit (IB) claims than back pain.

‘It has been estimated that nearly 10 per cent of the UK’s gross national product (GNP) is lost each year due to job generated stress.
‘Stress is the highest cause of absence among non-manual employees, with an estimated 12.8 million working days lost in Britain in 2003/04 due to stress, and depression or anxiety ascribed to work related stress.

‘Nearly three in every ten employees will have a mental health problem in any one year, the great majority of which will be anxiety and depressive disorders.

‘Mental health problems account for the loss of over 91 million working days each year.

‘Half of all days lost through mental ill health are due to anxiety and stress conditions.

‘In a CBI survey of over 800 companies, 98 per cent of respondents said mental health should be a company concern, with 81 per cent of those saying that the mental health of employees should be a company priority.

‘But fewer than one in ten of the companies surveyed had an official policy on mental health.’

The report adds: ‘Talking about stress has become part of normal everyday conversation.

‘We might talk about being stressed by our partners, our children, our financial worries and, of course, our jobs.

‘Most of us recognise the symptoms of stress as feeling anxious, worrying more than usual, not being able to concentrate, and not sleeping well.

‘But we don’t always take our feelings of stress that seriously, assuming either that it’s part and parcel of life or that it will pass.

‘But when our jobs are the cause of our stress, we can feel powerless to do anything about it, which of course raises our stress levels even higher.

‘We may feel we can’t admit to feeling stressed to anyone at work, because it’s somehow a sign of weakness or of mental distress.

‘Many of us work in environments where mental distress is still very much stigmatised.

‘But, owned up to or not, the situation is stark: work related stress is estimated to be the biggest occupational health problem in the UK after musculoskeletal disorders.

‘What’s more, common mental health problems like depression and anxiety now account for more Incapacity Benefit claims than back pain.

‘The effects, therefore, of work related stress, both on individuals and organisations, are profound.’

The report says: ‘In some people with no previous history of mental health problems, stress at work can also trigger serious mental health issues that have been previously undiagnosed or latent.

‘And where employees already have existing mental health problems, increased stress at work can lead to relapse and breakdown.

‘Mind believes that stress at work is now one of the most common forms of mental distress.

‘That is why this report is not targeted exclusively at the mental health sector, but also at employees and employers, which means most of us.’

It emphasises: ‘This report is not specifically targeted at the mental health sector – the issues it raises go far wider than that – but it makes clear that to deny mental health service users a supportive work environment or an adequate safety net is an infringement of their rights and has a negative impact on the economy.

‘It also leaves many talented people out of work and unable to contribute.’

The report adds: ‘As part of their overall strategy to reduce work related ill health, the HSE developed some guidance on stress management standards.

‘The Management standards for work related stress launched in November 2004, encourage organisations to take preventative measures in relation to stress at work through a risk assessment.

‘The suggested stages of the risk assessment are as follows:

‘1. Identify the hazards. 2. Decide who might be harmed and how. 3. Evaluate the risk and take action. 4. Record findings. 5. Monitor and review.

‘The Management Standards that underpin the risk assessment look at six key aspects of work that, if properly managed, can help to reduce work related stress:

‘1. Demands: includes issues such as workload, work patterns and the work environment.

‘2. Control: how much say employees have over the way they do their work.

‘3. Support: includes the encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues.

‘4. Role: whether people understand their role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures that the person does not have conflicting roles.

‘5. Relationships: includes promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour.

‘6. Change: how organisational change (large or small) is managed and communicated in the organisation.’

‘Each standard is accompanied by a list of “states to be achieved” within an organisation.

‘Although the standards are voluntary, the HSE has indicated that they will be used as evidence against employers that continue to ignore their responsibilities in managing stress under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

‘In 2003, the HSE issued its first ever improvement notice under the Health and Safety at Work Act against an employer (West Dorset Hospitals NHS Trust) for failing to take steps to identify and manage stress, following a complaint by an employee.

‘The Trades Union Congress (TUC) and its affiliated unions have devoted increasing attention to raising awareness of stress as a major source of work related health problems, which affect the mental and physical wellbeing of workers.

‘A study of 4,521 safety representatives carried out by the TUC in 2004 reported that the number of workers experiencing stress had increased by 2 per cent since 2002, taking the level up to 58 per cent of workers complaining of being stressed at work.

When the HSE Management Standards were launched, Britain’s largest trade union, UNISON, responded by stating they did not believe that the standards were going far enough and that regulations and rules that employers must obey, as opposed to guidelines, were required.

‘UNISON recognised that the HSE guidelines were a major step forward in addressing workplace stress, but want organisations to be held to account if they fail to meet them.’