It’s International Stress Awareness Week 2025. Every year, this global event draws attention to the growing impact of stress on our mental and physical health – and what we can do to manage it.
Yet despite this increasing awareness, workplace stress remains one of the leading causes of work-related ill health in the UK. Figures show that stress, depression and anxiety now account for more cases of work-related illness than ever before.
So, if awareness is at an all-time high, why are the numbers still rising?
The answer may lie in how stress is being approached. Many employers talk about the issue, but far fewer consider its causes – even though stress is a recognised workplace hazard that must be assessed, mitigated and managed like any other.
This blog explains your legal duties regarding stress and how to move beyond awareness to actually reduce work-related stress in your organisation.
Key Takeaways
- Stress remains the UK’s leading cause of work-related ill health, accounting for nearly half of all recorded cases.
- Awareness alone is not enough – stress must be treated as a workplace hazard that can and should be controlled.
- Employers are legally required to assess stress-related risks in their workplace and take practical steps to eliminate or reduce them.
Stress Is Now the UK’s Leading Cause of Work-Related Ill Health
Work-related stress is the single largest cause of occupational ill health in the UK, and has been for some time.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), around 1.7 million workers suffered from work-related ill health in 2023/24, and almost half of these cases – 776,000 – were due to stress, depression or anxiety.
These figures have remained persistently high for several years and continue to rise. The current rate of stress, depression and anxiety cases is around 2,290 per 100,000 workers – significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels and among the highest recorded in the past decade.
Cases of poor mental health are also keeping people off work for longer. The UK economy lost 16.4 million working days in 2023/24 to stress, depression and anxiety, with the average affected employee taking 21.1 days off – compared with 6.8 days for physical injuries.
The HSE’s data shows that stress-related illness and absence are at historically high levels and not falling, suggesting that increased awareness has not yet translated into stress management.
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Overcoming the Gap Between Awareness and Action
Thanks to events like International Stress Awareness Week 2025, there has been a gradual shift in attitudes. Workplace stress is now widely recognised as a serious issue, and employers across every industry have made genuine efforts to manage it.
Internal campaigns, open cultures and wellbeing days are now common features in modern workplaces. These are unquestionably positive developments – but they are not, on their own, a solution.
In too many organisations, stress is still treated as a personal problem to be handled through self-care or counselling, rather than a health hazard that can be created or made worse by the way work is designed and managed.
This approach shifts responsibility onto individuals and away from the organisation, which is a complete reversal of what employers should be doing.
By law, employers must assess stress-related risks in their workplace and take steps to reduce or eliminate them.
International Stress Awareness Week 2025 – Handling Stress as a Workplace Hazard
The theme of International Stress Awareness Week 2025 is Optimising Employee Wellbeing through Strategic Stress Management. It both recognises stress as a growing risk to employees’ health and calls for a more structured approach to managing it. In legal terms, this is exactly what employers are expected to do.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, every employer has a duty to protect employees from work-related harm – a duty that extends to mental as well as physical health.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 reinforce this duty. They require employers to conduct suitable and sufficient risk assessments for all significant hazards, including those that can cause stress-related ill health.
Yet, despite these duties being well established in law, many employers are unsure how to apply them in practice. In response, the HSE has developed clear and practical guidance for employers.
The HSE Approach to Managing Work-Related Stress
The HSE identifies six key areas of work design that, if poorly managed, are most likely to lead to stress:
- Demands – workload, work patterns and the working environment
- Control – how much say people have in the way they do their work
- Support – the resources and management support available
- Relationships – how conflict and unacceptable behaviour are managed
- Role – whether people understand their role and how it fits within the organisation
- Change – how organisational change is communicated and managed
A risk assessment should examine each of these areas to identify potential stressors, evaluate how employees may be affected and determine what control measures are needed.
Conducting a Stress Risk Assessment
A stress risk assessment follows the same principles as any other workplace risk assessment. The goal is to identify what could cause harm, decide who might be affected and act to eliminate or reduce those risks.
The HSE recommends the following approach:
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- Identify the risk factors
Review the six common causes of work-related stress and how they apply to your organisation. Look for work design or management practices that could contribute to stress – for example, high workloads, unclear responsibilities or poor communication during change. - Decide who might be harmed and how
Consider how different groups or roles may be affected. Frontline workers, managers and administrative staff often experience different sources of stress. Consult employees directly to gain a realistic picture of their working conditions. - Evaluate the risks
Assess how significant each stressor is and what existing controls are in place. This could include reviewing absence records, staff turnover or survey results to identify patterns. - Record your findings and take action
A written record should outline the main stressors identified, who is at risk and what control measures will be introduced. Examples include setting boundaries around out-of-hours communication and ensuring employees know what to do when demands exceed their current capacity. - Monitor and review
Regularly check whether control measures are effective and whether new risks have emerged. Review your assessment after any significant changes, such as restructures, staffing changes or new working arrangements.
- Identify the risk factors
Conducted properly, your risk assessment will provide a framework for managing stress before it becomes harmful. It’s also evidence that you’ve taken steps to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.
Next Steps
Stress can (and must) be controlled like any other workplace hazard – but that starts with understanding the basic principles of how to assess and manage it. The process isn’t complicated, and with just a little knowledge and consistency, organisations can take meaningful steps to improve working conditions and protect their staff.
To help, we offer an online Stress Risk Assessment Training course that introduces the principles and process of conducting a stress risk assessment. It offers a straightforward overview of what you should look for and how to begin managing risks effectively.
The course is a useful starting point for anyone responsible for staff wellbeing or workplace safety and will help you translate awareness into practical action.
