Work-related stress

What is stress?

HSE defines stress as ‘an adverse reaction to excessive pressure'. Pressure is often part and parcel of work and helps to keep people motivated. Excess, badly-managed exposure to pressure can lead to stress. Workers who experience stress, anxiety or depression are unlikely to perform effectively. This can be costly to employers and in safety-critical industries such as construction it can have serious consequences.

What causes stress?

HSE has identified six aspects of work that can lead to stress. These are:

1. demands: such as workload and pattern, adequacy of the management team, build programme, and the effects of client expectation and contract penalties;
2. control: how much say someone has about the way that they work;
3. support: whether employees receive adequate information and support from managers and colleagues, and whether there are local systems to respond to individual concerns;
4. relationships: the nature of work relationships, including mechanisms to deal with unacceptable behaviour such as bullying;
5. role: whether people understand their jobs and have the skills, experience and support to deliver, and whether there is any conflict of responsibilities; and
6. change: how change is managed and communicated in the organisation, and whether work is secure, including when contracting.

The ‘top five' most stressful aspects of work in construction are:

1. having too much work to do in the time available;
2. travelling or commuting;
3. being responsible for the safety of others at work;
4. working long hours; and
5. having a dangerous job.

Remember that factors such as personal relationships, financial concerns, domestic issues and bereavement will affect someone's ability to cope with pressure at work. The importance of these factors is likely to vary over time.

Who is affected?

Anyone can be affected by stress, regardless of job or seniority. However, managers, along with road workers, designers and administration staff, report more stress than other trades and professions.

HSE has published the Management Standards for Stress to help organisations to identify ‘at-risk' parts of the business, and to make sure that the risk is managed effectively.

How can stress be tackled?

Work-related stress is not inevitable - it can be tackled by sensible management. The Management Standards are intended to help organisations to assess and manage the risk in a systematic way.

The following five steps will take you to HSE's Stress website:

• Step 1: Identify the hazards
• Step 2: Decide who might be harmed and how
• Step 3: Evaluate the risk and take action
• Step 4: Record your findings
• Step 5: Monitor and review

Although the Management Standards are not law, following them can help you to meet your legal duties. A suitable risk assessment for stress should include:

• looking at the current situation in your business (using surveys or other techniques);
• promoting active discussion with employees and their representatives to clarify how staff are affected locally;
• working with staff to make sensible, practical improvements; and
• regularly reviewing the situation to ensure that improvements continue.

What does the law require?

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess risks that are caused by work, and this includes stress. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 places a duty on them to take measures to control that risk. Doing a proper risk assessment for stress and taking action should help you to ensure that staff are efficient and effective, as well as reducing the likelihood of expensive litigation and enforcement.

• Health surveillance

More information

• Work-related stress
• An analysis of the prevalence and distribution of stress in the construction industry - Research Report RR518