Risk assessment | 2 in 3 firms not formally assessing workplace stress despite HSE scrutiny

UK businesses are overlooking a key health and safety risk despite increasing regulatory focus on workplace mental health, new data suggests.

Research from employment law, HR and health and safety specialists WorkNest found that only 18% of organisations regularly and formally assess work-related stress as part of their risk management process.

Over one third (35%) of organisations do not assess workplace stress at all, while 30% said stress is assessed but inconsistently. A further 17% were unaware whether their company carries out a stress risk assessment at all. 

The findings come as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) continues to emphasise the importance of managing psychosocial risks such as stress, burnout and workload pressures, which remain a leading cause of workplace absence in the UK.