Further to our previous article on 2021 National Stress Awareness Day back in November, a new report published by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) highlights that the problem of workplace stress has increased compared to its pre-pandemic level
Workplace Stress
A new report published by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has found that there were 822,000 cases of workplace stress in 2020/21, which amounts to 2.48% of the workforce. Whilst the number was similar to the previous year (2019/20), in which there were 828,000 cases, the figures for both years are significantly higher the last full pre-pandemic year for which statistics are available, (2017/18) in which there were 595,000 cases.
The 828,000 cases reported for the 2019/20 year resulted in 17.9 million days of absence from work, with each person taking 21.6 days off work on average. This is an increase of 2.5 million days when compared with the figure for 2017/18 (15.4 million days).
During 2020/21, in terms of all cases of work-related ill health, workplace stress accounted for 50% of the total. The previous year, it was 51%, and 55% of all those who were absent from work at some point during the period.
The sector with the highest number of cases of workplace stress, was the public sector. Education, health, and social work activities were the areas with the highest levels of stress.
The HSE research identified that 451,000 of the 822,000 cases of workplace stress in 2020/21 were new cases.
According to the HSE, “the main work factors cited by respondents as causing work-related stress, depression or anxiety were workload pressures, including tight deadlines and too much responsibility and a lack of managerial support.”
The impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic
The new report by the HSE highlights that the Covid-19 pandemic has made the problem of workplace stress considerably worse. Indeed, the HSE state that “449,000 reported that…[their workplace stress condition]… was caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Moreover, in separate research carried out by Dr Eric Shiu, a researcher at the University of Birmingham, the Covid-19 pandemic has in itself created new sources of stress, which includes job loss concerns, fears about catching the Covid-19 virus at work, and financial worries, the stress of working from home, and an inability to separate personal matters and work issues whilst working from home.
Commenting on his findings, Dr Shiu stated: “Job stress is not a new phenomenon in any industrial society and, historically, workload has been a key contributor to workplace anxiety. Yet COVID-19 has caused other factors to suddenly take the centre stage in influencing people’s levels of job stress... Working away from office is more stressful because it has breached work and family boundaries”
Dr Shiu added: “These findings also illustrate the link between job stress and disaster. Hurricane Sandy struck North America in 2012 and left communities with a greater job loss problem and people experiencing a higher risk of post-traumatic stress disorder. One year after the September 11 terror attack, victims were still afraid of potential job loss and job security.”
The Right To Disconnect
As we highlighted in a recent article, the trade union, Prospect, has been campaigning for a legal right to disconnect out of hours to be introduced in the UK. In relation to their campaign, Andrew Pakes, the research director at Prospect, stated: “Other countries have already acted to address this by bringing in a right to disconnect for workers, and we are calling on the UK government to take action now so that we are not left behind.“
The problem of presenteeism was highlighted by a recent report from the the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), who stated: “With the recent increase in homeworking, digital technology has the potential to enable an ‘always on’ culture. There’s a concern that the boundaries between work and home life can be increasingly blurred, making it more difficult for many people to switch off.“
Prospect, has called for a legal right to disconnect to be included in the forthcoming Employment Bill
