In 2020/21, 822,000 (Source: The Health and Safety Executive and Anxiety UK,2021) workers suffered from work-related stress, anxiety or depression. According to Anxiety UK, this may account for 50% of all work-related ill health cases. Work-related pressures are defined as the ‘harmful reaction people have to undue demands placed on them at work’ (Source: The Health and Safety Executive).
The rate of self-reported work-related stress has steadily increased in recent years, with 449,000 cases in 2021 estimated to have increased by the pandemic. Hollie Battershell of Citizens Advice Reigate and Banstead has produced a poster summarising some ways of dealing with these pressures which can be found on this page.
Workplace stress manifests itself in many different ways. Data from CIPHR (2021) shows that 18% of workers feel their workloads has an impact on their mental health, with work hours (14%), colleagues ( 11%) and commuting (8%) also contributing.
As workers are now returning to their offices after a lengthy work from home stint, these pressures can begin to mount again and it is important that no-one should suffer in silence or be fearful of losing their job by speaking out about work-related stress and anxiety.
If you are worried about returning to work because of coronavirus click here for further advice and help.
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