Workers in the UK are facing a higher level of workplace stress than ever before. That’s according to new figures from the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
Meanwhile, the Health and Safety Executive reported 22 million lost working days due to stress in 2024/25.
Stress
Almost eight in in ten (79%) of union reps taking part in the TUC’s 15th biennial survey reported stress as one of the main concerns they face at work. And they said employers are routinely failing to assess or act on the risks.
The survey of more than 2,700 union safety reps found:
79% of safety reps cite stress as a major hazard – the highest figure on record and significantly above all other hazards.
It was the top concern in every region and almost every industrial sector. It scored particularly high in central (80%) and local government (66%), health (68%), education (74%) and the voluntary sector (71%).
Workload, mentioned by 60% of reps, is close behind and rising sharply, with many reps saying excessive workloads are driving stress to unprecedented levels.
Safety reps report that employers are routinely failing to include stress in risk assessments. Two thirds of reps say they are not aware of any assessment into the risk of stress at work, let alone action to prevent it.
Nearly half (43%) of safety reps say they were not consulted at all on their employer’s risk assessment process – a serious breach of safety regulations.
Health and Safety Executive stats
The Health and Safety Executive’s official statistics for 2024/25 back up the TUC’s concerns. They show that work-related stress has reached record levels.
The figures show:
The number of workers reporting work-related stress, depression or anxiety has risen from 776,000 in 2023 to 964,000 in 2024 – an unprecedented increase.
22 million working days were lost due to work-related stress in 2024/25.
The TUC says these stats underline the economic and human cost of employers’ failure to tackle stress and wider health and safety risks.
The TUC is calling on government and employers to:
Enforce existing law requiring employers to assess and prevent work-related stress.
Strengthen the Health and Safety Executive with enough funding to investigate hazards and inspect workplaces properly.
Reduce excessive workloads and ensure safe staffing levels.
Give safety reps the rights and time they need to carry out their roles effectively.
Treat harassment and violence as core, reportable, health and safety risks, given their strong links to stress.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said:
These findings expose a growing national crisis. Stress is now entrenched as the biggest health and safety issue facing working people, and the situation is getting worse.
No worker should find themselves lying awake at night from stress. But too many employers are ignoring the law, failing to assess stress risks, and piling impossible workloads onto staff. Workers are burning out, and they are paying with their health.
Employers and managers need to do more to identify and reduce risks and to provide support to employees struggling to cope.
It is vital that we now implement the Employment Rights Act quickly and in full, so that we can improve employment standards and create happier, healthier and more productive workplaces.
Featured image via the Canary
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