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StressHealth and safetyMental healthOccupational Health

Mental health represented half of work-related illnesses last year

by Ashleigh Webber 7 Dec 2022
by Ashleigh Webber 7 Dec 2022 Shutterstock
Shutterstock

Stress, depression and anxiety accounted for half of the work-related ill health cases in 2021/22, according to the latest health and safety statistics from the HSE.

Mental illness accounted for 914,000 new or long-standing ill health cases last year, and was the most common category of work-related sickness, the HSE’s report says, accounting for 51% of cases.

Industries with higher than average rates of work-related stress, depression or anxiety included public administration and defence, human health and social work, and education.

The HSE found the coronavirus pandemic was a major contributory factor to work-related mental ill health. In the years prior to the pandemic, the rate of self-reported stress, depression or anxiety had shown signs of
increasing, but the current rate is higher than the 2018/19 level.

Mental health conditions represented 77% of the illnesses caused or made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic, the report shows.

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Musculoskeletal disorders, the second most common type of work-related illness, represented 27% of ill-health cases. Most of these affected the back (42%) or upper limbs or neck (37%), with only 21% affecting the lower limbs.

In total, 1.8 million workers were suffering from a new or long-standing work-related illness in 2021/22 – 41% of which were new cases.

The HSE estimated that 30.8 million working days were lost to work-related illness or injury, 55% of which were due to stress, depression or anxiety.

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Occupational lung disease continued to be the biggest cause of work-related deaths in 2021/22. Some 12,000 lung disease death each year are estimated to be linked to past exposures at work, out of 13,000 total deaths, with 34% due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 20% due to asbestos-related cancer and 20% because of mesothelioma.

The report shows that 123 people died in work-related accidents in 2021/22, including 30 in construction, 22 in agriculture, forestry and fishing, and 22 in manufacturing.

Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is a former editor of OHW+ and former HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support.

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