Although work-related stress is not an illness, the psychological impact can contribute to problems with ill health. As well as anxiety and depression, stress has been associated with heart disease, back pain and gastrointestinal illnesses.

Although the great majority of UK workplaces do not have a serious stress problem, the incidence of work-related stress appears widespread. According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS), in 2007/08 an estimated 442 000 individuals in Britain believed that they were experiencing work-related stress at a level that was making them ill. Research from the LFS indicates that self-reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety accounted for an estimated 13.5 million lost working days in Britain in 2007/08.

Although work-related stress is not an illness, the psychological impact can contribute to problems with ill health. As well as anxiety and depression, stress has been associated with heart disease, back pain and gastrointestinal illnesses.

Although the great majority of UK workplaces do not have a serious stress problem, the incidence of work-related stress appears widespread. According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS), in 2007/08 an estimated 442 000 individuals in Britain believed that they were experiencing work-related stress at a level that was making them ill. Research from the LFS indicates that self-reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety accounted for an estimated 13.5 million lost working days in Britain in 2007/08.

Stress can be triggered by organisational or individual factors. Organisational factors include poor communication, bad working environment and ineffective job design. Individual factors include personal problems such as bereavement, money worries and illness.

Work-related stress (WRS) can also be caused where there is 'a mismatch between job requirements and the individual's abilities, resources or needs'. These can be categorised as:

• Demands: employees often become overloaded if they cannot cope with the amount of work or type of work they are asked to do.
• Control: employees can feel disaffected and perform poorly if they have no say over how and when they do their work.
• Support: levels of sick absence often rise if employees feel they cannot talk to managers about issues that are troubling them.
• Relationships: a failure to build relationships based on good behaviour and trust can lead to problems related to discipline, grievances and bullying.
• Role: employees will feel anxious about their work and the organisation if they don't know what is expected of them.
• Change: change needs to be managed effectively or it can lead to huge uncertainty and insecurity.

Some forms of stress can be prevented. For example, the kind of organisational stress caused by poor management or the lack of company policies for dealing with bullying or discipline. You can also help with individual stress, which relates to your employees' relationships or personal problems, with the right kind of understanding and support. You can also address the various forms of work-related stress (WRS) systematically:

• Demands: pay attention to the way jobs are designed, training needs and whether it is possible for employees to work more flexible hours.
• Control: think about how employees are actively involved in decision making, the contribution made by teams and how reviewing performance can help identify strengths and weaknesses.
• Support: give employees the opportunity to talk about the issues causing stress, provide a sympathetic ear and keep them informed.
• Relationships: check your policies for handling grievances, unsatisfactory performance, poor attendance and misconduct, and for tackling bullying and harassment. Ensure staff are aware of policies, and that line managers are trained to recognise potential problems at an early stage and try to deal with them in an informal way to avoid increased stress for individuals.
• Role: review your induction process, ensure accurate job descriptions and maintain a close link between individual targets and organisational goals.
• Change: plan ahead so that change doesn't come out of the blue. Consult with employees so they have a real input, and work together to solve problems.