Client/Funder: HSE

Brief summary of work: 7.1 million days were lost due to work-related stress in 2023.  Almost half of all cases of work-related ill-health in the UK were caused by stress. 

Work-related stress is strongly linked to poor mental health outcomes and can lead to serious mood disorders, burnout, and suicide. Work-related stress has significant negative consequences for employers contributing to increased absenteeism and presenteeism, reduced performance, lost productivity, staff turnover and early retirement.  

Despite strong, consistent evidence linking working conditions and psychosocial stressors to outcomes of work stress, the most recent Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) health and wellbeing report shows that only 40% of the 726 organisations surveyed are taking steps to identify causes of stress. 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have commissioned Affinity Health at Work, the Institute of Employment Studies (IES), the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) to lead the Occupational Stress Consultation and Research (OSCAR) project. This project aims to provide HSE with the evidence base on which to make policy decisions and underpin guidance on the practical actions that employers can take to prevent and mitigate work-related stress relative to the research areas of interest. 

Collaborative partners: Affinity Health at Work, Institute of Employment Studies