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
  • 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
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

StressMental health conditionsMusculoskeletal disordersSickness absence managementMental health

Working days lost to stress increase by nearly a quarter

by Ashleigh Webber 31 Oct 2018
by Ashleigh Webber 31 Oct 2018

The number of working days lost to stress rose by almost a quarter last year, suggesting that employers need to do more to address this “growing epidemic”, the TUC has said.

Workplace health and safety figures released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today showed that 15.4 million working days were lost to work-related stress in 2017/18, compared with 12.5 million the previous year.

Stress

Boardroom leadership is the key to lower employee stress

How do the stress management standards help to manage work-related stress?

More than half a million people (595,000, compared with 526,000 in 2016/17) suffered from work-related stress, anxiety or depression last year, with such conditions more prevalent in the education, human health and social work and public administration and defence sectors.

Stress, depression and anxiety accounted for 57% of all working days lost in 2017/18, while musculoskeletal disorders represented 25% of working days lost.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady suggested it was time that work-related mental health conditions were taken more seriously by employers and the government.

“Work-related stress is a growing epidemic,” she said. “Warm words are not going to fix this problem. Managers need to do far more to reduce the causes of stress and support employees struggling to cope.

“This means tackling issues like excessive workloads and bullying in the office. Toxic workplaces are bad for staff and productivity.”

The HSE’s report also showed that the number of working days lost to musculoskeletal conditions reduced from 8.9 million in 2016/17 to 6.6 million last year. The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector overtook construction as the industry where such conditions were most common.

The number of deaths from lung disease linked to past exposures at work remained the same, at 12,000. The HSE expects there will be around 2,500 mesothelioma deaths per year for the rest of the decade before numbers begin to fall.

There was a slight increase in the number of employees killed at work in 2017/18 to 144, up from 137 the year before. The number of non-fatal injuries reported under RIDDOR increased to 71,062, compared with 70,116 in 2016/17.

Slips, trips and falls accounted for 31% of non-fatal injuries reported by employers last year, followed by handling, lifting and carrying (21%); workers being struck by an object (10%); falls from height (8%); and acts of violence (7%).

In terms of the bill to the economy, the annual cost of work-related injury and new cases of ill health in 2016/17 (excluding long-latency illnesses such as cancer) was £15 billion, split between £9.7 billion for ill health and £5.2 billion for workplace injuries, HSE added.

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
NHS to crack down on violence against staff
next post
Google workers stage global walkout

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

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

You may also like

Call for ‘national mental health plan’ for England

29 Sep 2023

Depression risk linked to ultra-processed foods

22 Sep 2023

Millions living with both chronic pain and mental...

22 Sep 2023

Millions of women suffering from severe period pain...

15 Sep 2023

Six out of 10 UK parents struggling with...

12 Sep 2023

World Suicide Prevention Day: employees lack skills to...

8 Sep 2023

CPD: Burnout – risk factors and solutions (webinar)

7 Sep 2023

CPD activities: Burnout – risk factors and solutions

7 Sep 2023

Study: No reliable evidence of mental health first...

1 Sep 2023

Study: online CBT most cost-effective mental health treatment

1 Sep 2023

  • Almost a fifth of UK workers feel undervalued – we need to solve this PROMOTED | A new report has found...Read more
  • Discover the value of CIPD accreditation PROMOTED | See how the CIPD can increase your earning potential...Read more
  • What does it mean to be an HR professional in 2024? (survey) PROMOTED | The world of HR is changing rapidly...Read more
  • The Contractor Management Mastery Pack: Everything you need to manage and pay global contractors PROMOTED | Answers to cross-border...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
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today