HSE Starts 2026 With New Campaign Website And Urges Employees To Understand Impact Of Stress

 

Both Stress at Work ad Muskeloskeletal Damage caused by work are the top two causes of sickness and time off work in the UK.

 

Despite this very little is being done by the HSE in prosecuting bad employers whose negligent attitude towards health and safety at work, but they do continue to alert those companies signed up to their newsletters and advice notifications; on both these subjects which cost the most in lost productivity. This of course is the UK Governments main target, along with sickness benefits and disability benefits; which are of course the result of sressed and injuredworkers in far too many cases.

 

It is a pity that consideration for the health and safety of the workforce, and the need for duty of care by employers, along with preventative measures are not the main motivasion of both the HSE and the Government.

 

Union Safety Reps know all of this of course, and of their legal rights and duties to carry out their responsibilities, especially in the area of risk assessments and duty of care that all employers are encumbered with.

 

It is worth noting that one of the key resources for Employers being promoted by the HSE, is also one of the key weapons USRs have in fighting employers who do not abide by Health & Safety law and the need to ensure up to date risk assessments dealing with both workplace stress and injuries from repetative and badly designed equipment and procedures at work.

 

 

The HSE has lanched it's new website highlighting its campaigns, which is linked to from its main website pages. As the menu above shows, mental health is a major subject whith advice and support for employers on how to deal with mental health in the workplace.

 

The stress campaign provides much detail of the well publicised HSE Stress templates and standards, commonly known as The Mangament Standards which cover 'six key areas of work design that, if not properly managed, are associated with poor health, lower productivity and increased accident and sickness absence rates.'

 

Workplace Stress is defined by the HSE as:

".. a harmful reaction that people have to undue pressures and demands placed on them at work.”

Stress can affect both mental and physical health and impact performance at work. Everyone experiences stress differently, and factors such as skills, experience, age, or disability can all influence how stress affects someone.

 

As if to illustrate this, the latest figures for workplace stress, anxiety and depression are also highlighted in the web page as pictured above. Click on it fi you wish to go to the website. You can also download the document of statistics from the unionsafety E-Library using search category of 'Stress'.

 

Source: HSE