stressed employeeThe British Safety Council has called on employers to do more to tackle stress among employees and has made its stress-related resources freely available.

Stress is said to cost the UK economy £6.5 billion per year and is one of the biggest health-related priorities facing businesses. 

Alex Botha, chief executive of the British Safety Council, said: “Businesses managing risks in their workplace are increasingly seeing occupational health as a priority. A number of factors are contributing – a workforce that is ageing, the changing shape of our economy to one that is more service orientated, the pressures on government and the NHS with the fact that people are living with illness and disease for longer.

“But with so many pressures on businesses too, and the complexity involved, we recognise that we have an important role to play in providing practical steps on how to address occupational health.

“We draw in the practical experience of thousands of our members dealing with these issues and we share their experiences but also identify what more can, and should, be done.

“What we’ve seen is that in tackling occupational health, a lot of learning can be drawn from the ‘safety’ landscape. So often we see that it is about clear leadership, effective communication, appropriate training, good measurement and management – in a sense, health can be managed ‘like safety’. And the business case is there to support the value of such investments.”

The British Safety Council is making its guide for employers on managing stress in the workplace freely available until the end of November.

To find out more about the resources and to download them, click here.