Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Join
  • 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
  • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Join
  • 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
  • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

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.

Work-related illness and injury

Workplace injury and disease settlements halve in a decade

HSE to target construction sites in health and safety campaign

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.

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 Webber

Ashleigh is editor of OHW+ and 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. Prior to joining Personnel Today in 2018, she covered the road transport sector for Commercial Motor and Motor Transport magazines, touching on some of the employment and wellbeing issues experienced by those in road haulage.

previous post
Six employee wellbeing trends for 2023
next post
Female lawyers more likely to leave jobs than men

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Asbestos still rife in hospitals and wider NHS

23 Jan 2023

Chefs outline macho culture of deliberate burnings, bullying...

23 Jan 2023

What the ROPE theory can teach us about...

23 Jan 2023

Study aims to unpick asbestos exposure in schools

20 Jan 2023

Investigation exposes hospital nitrous oxide failings

16 Jan 2023

Firefighters at heightened risk of cancers and mental...

13 Jan 2023

Stone mason wins largest ever settlement for silicosis

16 Dec 2022

Warning that EU ‘sunsetting’ Bill could harm health...

12 Dec 2022

Welsh health board fined for HAVS after ignoring...

2 Dec 2022

Work-related Covid infections up a third, HSE analysis...

25 Nov 2022

  • The Workplace Today Guide: Why it pays to support your staff’s financial health PROMOTED | The cost of living crisis has hit...Read more
  • abrdn pensions master trust: an enhanced member experience PROMOTED | For most people, their pension will be the largest source of income in retirement...Read more
  • How can HR equip leaders to support a wounded workforce? PROMOTED | The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released new guidelines for employers...Read more
  • How HR manages absence and hybrid working (survey) WEBINAR | HR professionals are slowly realising...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 2023

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2023 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Join
  • 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
  • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today