A new TUC survey has laid bare what many of us in the movement have been warning about for years: Britain is now in the grip of a work‑related stress crisis. The findings, released this week, confirm that stress is not a marginal issue or a personal failing — it is the single biggest health and safety hazard facing working people today, and it is being fuelled by employer inaction, excessive workloads, and a failure to meet even the most basic legal duties.
The TUC’s 15th biennial survey of union safety reps — more than 2,700 reps from across 36 affiliated unions — paints a stark picture of a workforce under strain and a regulatory system stretched to breaking point.
Stress: The Leading Workplace Hazard Across Britain
Almost eight in ten safety reps (79%) now cite stress as a major hazard in their workplace. This is the highest level ever recorded in the survey’s history, and it outstrips every other hazard by a significant margin.
What is particularly striking is the consistency of the problem:
- Every region of Britain reports stress as the top concern.
- Almost every sector shows the same pattern, with especially acute levels in:
- Central government (80%)
- Local government (66%)
- Health (68%)
- Education (74%)
- The voluntary sector (71%)
These are sectors where staffing levels have been cut to the bone, where demand has risen relentlessly, and where workers are routinely expected to “do more with less”. The result is predictable: burnout, anxiety, and a workforce pushed beyond sustainable limits.
Workload Pressures Driving the Crisis
Behind the stress statistics lies a familiar culprit: excessive workload. Sixty per cent of reps identified workload as a major hazard, and many reported that rising demands are pushing stress to unprecedented levels.
This is not simply about “busy periods” or “challenging roles”. It is about structural understaffing, unrealistic targets, and a culture in which workers are expected to absorb the consequences of managerial decisions without consultation or support.
A Systemic Failure to Assess and Prevent Stress
Perhaps the most damning finding is the widespread failure of employers to meet their legal obligations.
- Two‑thirds of safety reps say they are unaware of any assessment of stress risks in their workplace.
- Nearly half (43%) say they were not consulted at all on their employer’s risk assessment process — a direct breach of safety regulations.
Stress is not an optional extra in risk management. It is a recognised hazard, and employers are legally required to assess and prevent it. Yet the survey shows that many simply do not bother.
HSE Data Confirms the Scale of the Problem
The TUC’s findings are reinforced by the Health and Safety Executive’s latest statistics for 2024/25, which show:
- Workers reporting work‑related stress, depression, or anxiety rose from 776,000 in 2023 to 964,000 in 2024 — an extraordinary increase in just one year.
- 22 million working days were lost due to work‑related stress in 2024/25.
These are not abstract numbers. They represent exhausted nurses, overstretched teachers, burned‑out civil servants, and millions of workers across the economy whose health is being sacrificed to poor management and chronic under‑resourcing.
The economic cost is vast, but the human cost is greater still.
What the TUC Is Calling For
The TUC is urging government and employers to take immediate action, including:
- Enforcing existing laws requiring employers to assess and prevent stress.
- Strengthening the HSE with the funding needed to investigate hazards and inspect workplaces.
- Reducing excessive workloads and ensuring safe staffing levels.
- Giving safety reps the rights and time they need to carry out their roles effectively.
- Treating harassment and violence as core health and safety risks, given their strong links to stress.
These are not radical demands. They are the minimum steps required to protect workers’ health and uphold the law.
A National Crisis That Demands a National Response
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak describes the findings as exposing “a growing national crisis”. He is right. Stress is no longer a background issue — it is entrenched, escalating, and affecting workers across every corner of the economy.
“No worker should find themselves lying awake at night from stress,” he says. Yet too many are doing exactly that, while employers ignore the law and pile impossible workloads onto staff.
Solidarity’s Response
Solidarity General Secretary Pat Harrington added his voice to the warning, emphasising that the crisis is not only widespread but avoidable:
“These figures confirm what our members have been telling us for years: stress is not a personal weakness, it is a workplace hazard created by employer decisions. When staffing is cut, when workloads spiral, when consultation is ignored, workers pay with their health. Solidarity will continue to challenge employers who break the law and support every member facing stress at work. No one should suffer in silence.”
His words reflect what many of us see daily: stress is not an individual problem but a structural one — and it demands a collective, organised response.
What This Means for Solidarity Members
For Solidarity, these findings reinforce what our own members have been telling us: stress is not a private burden but a workplace hazard that demands collective action. Safety reps need time, training, and authority. Workers need safe staffing levels and realistic workloads. And employers need to be held to account when they fail to meet their obligations.
We will continue to support members facing stress at work, challenge employers who ignore the law, and push for a national approach that treats mental health with the seriousness it deserves.
This crisis is not inevitable. It is the result of choices — and it can be changed by collective action, strong unions, and a renewed commitment to dignity at work.
Full TUC Survey Report:
https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/2025-12/SafetyRepsSurvey20242025.pdf
By Maria Camara