Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

StressMental healthWellbeingOccupational Health

Staff stress in higher and further education increases

by Personnel Today 5 Nov 2007
by Personnel Today 5 Nov 2007

The amount of workplace stress in UK universities and colleges  is more prevalent than five years ago, according to research.  


 


A survey by MarshallACM, found that 75% of respondents said stress has increased, yet only 25% of line managers know the legal implications of the Health & Safety Executive’s new guidance on stress, leaving gaping holes in supporting staff effectively – as well as plenty of room for legal backlash.


 


MarshallACM’s chief executive, David Marshall, said; “Universities and colleges may have measures in place to support staff when they actually become stressed, but few seem to have educated managers on looking for the signs of stress and understanding their duty of care to staff.


 


“If proactive measures are taken, they can counter the causes of stress rather than offering counselling within employee


assistance programmes afterwards.  It’s all about reducing the cause of the problem, rather than trying to stick a plaster on afterwards.  This is important from an employee perspective because once someone is affected by stress then it stays with them a long time.  From a employer’s perspective, stress levels can reduce productivity and in extreme cases can cause costly and discrediting legal claims.


 


Chief causes of stress were ‘factors intrinsic to job’ 17%, ‘culture and structure’ 21%, lack of career progress’ 10%, ‘relationships’ 14% and ‘work life balance’ 10%.  Individuals commented that intrinsic factors include an increase in student numbers and quality initiatives.  Some added extrinsic factors, such as funding issues, requirements from external bodies and poor planning or undue consideration when tasks are given.


 


Sixty-four percent of establishments have programmes in place to combat stress, but only 7% were in place for all staff.  Twenty-five percent of programmes in place, seen as the most relevant, were about policies.


Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

 


Marshall ACM delivers a managed e-learning service to over 140 organisations across the public and private sector in the UK and Republic of Ireland. 

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Severn Trent blames poor human resources for increase in number of written complaints
next post
The camera never lies… but what about your staff?

You may also like

Workplace stress: Why it’s time to rebrand resilience

22 May 2025

Uncertainty over law hampering legal use of medical...

20 May 2025

Employers ‘worryingly’ ignorant about stress risk assessments

20 May 2025

Awareness weeks fuel spike in demand for mental...

19 May 2025

Workers ‘wait and see’ as companies struggle to...

16 May 2025

Healthcare workers prioritise mental health support in new...

12 May 2025

Why HR burnout is a strategic issue

12 May 2025

Preparing for a new era of workforce planning...

8 May 2025

Two-thirds of school leaders suffering mental ill health

6 May 2025

Employers urged to do more to tackle loneliness

1 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today