Stress recognised as major health risk for workers
 The majority of NHS organisations believe that half of their staff is suffering from work place stress, according to a new report.
NHS Employers say that two-thirds of trusts believe that up to 50 per cent of their staff suffer from workplace stress. The release of the statistics mark the start of the employers' body's attempts to help both management and staff recognise and deal with stress effectively.
Julian Topping, head of workplace health and employment, said that it is hoped the awareness campaign will encourage staff and employers to take stress seriously. "Our lives are becoming increasingly more hectic and stress levels are soaring. Stress has become one of the biggest causes of staff sickness and costs the NHS millions of pounds every year," he commented.
"Employers have a legal duty to manage stress among staff, and staff have a legal duty towards making sure they are safe and well. The main problem is that many people don’t recognise when they, or their employees, are stressed until it is too late, and if they do, they very often don’t know what to do about it."
NHS Employers claims that work pressure stress is responsible for 30 per cent of staff sickness in the NHS and costs the service £300 - £400 million every year.
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