Nearly two million workers in Great Britain reported suffering from work-related ill health during 2022-23, with work-related stress absence still above pre-pandemic levels.
According to the annual figures published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), a total of 1.8 million workers reported they were suffering from work-related ill health during the 12-month period.
Approximately half of these cases were down to stress, depression or anxiety, the HSE said. There were an estimated 875,000 cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2022-23, and the current rate of self-reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety is still higher than pre-pandemic levels.
A total of 473,000 workers were suffering from a work-related musculoskeletal disorder.
In all, an estimated 35.2 million working days were lost in the period to self-reported work-related ill health or injury.
The estimated annual costs of workplace injury and new cases of work-related ill health reached £20.7bn, representing a £1.9bn increase compared with 2019-20, the HSE said.
A total of 135 workers were killed in work-related accidents in 2022-23, while 561,000 workers sustained a self-reported non-fatal injury in the workplace during the same period.
Work-related ill health
Work-related deaths and ill health still ‘unacceptably high’, warns IOSH
Along with the 1.8 million reporting ill health, 672,000 suffered from a new case of work-related ill health during 2022-23.
A total of 338,000 workers suffered from a new case of work-related stress, depression or anxiety and 132,000 suffered from a new case of a work-related musculoskeletal disorder.
On working days lost to ill health, 17.1 million were lost to work-related stress, depression or anxiety and 6.6 million to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. A total of 12,000 lung disease deaths each year were estimated to be linked to past exposures at work.
HSE chief executive Sarah Albon said: “Preventing or tackling work-related stress can provide significant benefits to employees, improving their experience of work and their overall health; and also to employers including increased productivity, decreased absenteeism and reduced staff turnover.”
In response to the figures, Richard Bedworth of StaySafe said the fact the volume of self-reported, work-related ill health is still higher than pre-pandemic levels was “worrying”.
“It is also concerning that some 1.8 million employees in the UK are suffering from an illness that they believe was caused or made worse by work,” he said.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
“Employers need to be aware that poor mental health is not only impactful for individuals, it can also have a detrimental impact on health and safety procedures. For instance, if someone is suffering from poor mental health, they could be less likely to follow health and safety guidance in the workplace, which in turn, could put themselves or their colleagues in danger. Therefore, it’s imperative that mental health at work is taken just as seriously as physical health.”
