964,000 UK workers report work-related stress, depression or anxiety: what HSE and WHO advise

964,000. That is the figure the UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published on 20 November 2025: in 2024/25, this many workers in Britain reported stress, depression or anxiety caused, or made worse, by work. The figure is a self-reported estimate from the Labour Force Survey, and HSE says it is in line with the upward trend in recent years.

Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 16% of working-age adults had a mental disorder in 2023. It also estimates that depression and anxiety cause 12 billion lost working days a year, which it puts at about US$1 trillion in lost productivity. These are WHO estimates, not independently verified accounts, but they give a sense of the scale of the problem.

Guidance from both bodies includes measures at organisation level: HSE says employers have a legal duty to reduce the impact of work-related stress, while WHO classes organisation-level risk assessment and reduction as "prevention".

Mindfulness or wellbeing programmes alone may not be enough

HSE's work-related stress resources page (updated on 6 January 2026) says employers have a legal duty to reduce the effect of work-related stress on employees' health and to prevent it as far as possible.

The same page carries a reminder: employers who rely only on resilience training, mindfulness or wellbeing programmes may not be fully meeting that legal duty.

Six areas: how HSE breaks down the sources of stress

HSE's Management Standards cover six areas:

• Demands
• Control
• Support
• Relationships
• Role: HSE says the problem is that employees do not fully understand their role and responsibilities
• Change: HSE says the problem is that employees are not involved when the organisation changes

WHO lists these psychosocial risks at work: excessive workloads, a pace that is too fast, and understaffing; long or inflexible hours; low control over job design or workload; bullying, harassment and discrimination; limited support from colleagues, or authoritarian supervision; job insecurity; and unclear roles. The wording differs from HSE's areas, but some of the content is similar, such as workload, control, support and role.

Organisation level: assessing risk, and the tools

HSE's Management Standards approach has five steps, preceded by a step to prepare the organisation:

1. Identify the risk factors
2. Decide who might be harmed and how
3. Evaluate the risks
4. Record the findings
5. Monitor and review

On measurement, HSE offers a 35-question Indicator Tool whose questions map to the six areas. HSE also says the questionnaire gives only a broad indication and should be used together with other data. Supporting tools include an Analysis Tool, a model stress policy and an example action plan.

HSE's resources page also suggests that organisations set a policy on the use of work devices outside working hours, and set an email cut-off point after which emails may go unanswered.

WHO classes measures that assess and reduce risk at organisation level as "prevention", with flexible working arrangements as an example.

The role of managers

The second type of intervention WHO recommends is "protection and promotion", which includes training for managers. HSE also provides a Line Manager Competency Indicator Tool and lists two research reports on managers' competencies: RR553 (phase one) and RR633 (phase two).

On the Role area, HSE's description of the problem is that employees do not fully understand their role and responsibilities.

Approaches at individual level

Under "protection and promotion", WHO also lists mental health literacy training for workers and individual stress management interventions. HSE, however, reminds employers that relying only on resilience training, mindfulness or wellbeing programmes may mean they are not fully meeting their legal duty.

HSE has published one guide each for employers and employees: How to tackle work-related stress (INDG430) for employers, and Working together to reduce stress at work (INDG424) for employees. As of November 2026, both are listed as free publications and can be found on HSE's resources page.

For workers who already have a mental health condition, WHO's third type of intervention is support, including reasonable work arrangements and return-to-work programmes. This article offers general information only and makes no diagnosis.

Background and evidence behind the guidance

On 28 September 2022, WHO published Guidelines on mental health at work, covering organisational interventions, training for managers and workers, individual interventions, return to work and employment. On the same day, WHO and the International Labour Organization (ILO) published a policy brief setting out a framework for putting those recommendations into practice, aimed at governments, employers and workers' and employers' organisations.

For its part, HSE lists on its resources page a 2009 study by Kerr and colleagues on the relationship between the Management Standards and stress-related outcomes.

It should be noted that we have not been able to verify the strength of recommendation and certainty of evidence for each WHO recommendation. This article therefore lists only the areas the guidance covers and does not rate how effective any individual measure is.

Start with a work allocation chart

If you manage a team, you could start by taking out the work allocation chart and reporting lines and checking them against the six areas: whose workload is persistently too high, who is unclear about their responsibilities, and whether anyone asked staff for their views before the last reorganisation.

Prices and details correct as of November 2026

This article is general health information, not medical advice. For any health concern, consult a doctor or registered health professional.