Employers should treat stress like other workplace hazards

AS many of us return to work after a well-deserved festive break, a quiet crisis is unfolding across Britain’s workplaces, one felt sharply here in the North East.

- DAVE PIKE

Work-related stress has become the biggest health and safety issue facing working people, driven by excessive workloads and employers failing to tackle the risks properly.

Health and Safety Executive figures for 2024/25 estimate 964,000 workers suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety, up from 776,000 in 2023/24. The result is 22.1 million working days lost in a single year, a serious hit to people’s health and family life as well as the economy.

‘The TUC’s findings come directly from the shop floor. In its biennial survey of more than 2,700 union health and safety reps, 79% said stress is a major hazard, the highest figure ever recorded, and 60% flagged workload as a major hazard.