Accessibility statement

Why is it important to manage stress?

There are a number of good reasons why it makes sense to manage work related stress effectively:

  • recent statistics have confirmed that work related stress is widespread in the UK working population and is not just confined to particular sectors or high risk jobs or industries.
  • stress is also responsible for a large proportion of alleged cases of ill health caused by work; depression and anxiety are the most common stress-related complaints seen by GPs, affecting 20% of the working population of the UK
  • over 10 million working days are typically lost to stress each year in the UK
  • stress can also:
    • affect a workers commitment to work
    • affect performance
    • cause accidents due to human error
    • lead to staff turnover and intention to leave
    • lead to poor attendance levels
    • impact on staff recruitment and retention
    • affect organisational image and reputation
    • lead to litigation

As such, the University has both a legal and moral duty to take reasonable measures to protect staff from the adverse effects of stress that may arise from work activities