Glossary

Work-related stress is the harmful physical or psychological reaction that occurs when people are subject to excessive work demands or expectations.

 

In Great Britain, HSE figures show that:

• Work-related stress accounts for over a third of all new incidences of ill health.

• In 2008/09, an estimated 415 000 workers in Britain experienced work-related stress at a level that was making them ill.

• THOR surveillance data from General Practitioners indicates that 30.9% of all diagnoses of work-related ill-health are cases of mental ill-health, with an average length of sickness absence per certied case of 26.8 working days.
• An estimated 11.4 million working days were lost due to stress, depression and anxiety in 2008/09.
                                                                                                                                                Find out more…
 

This adverse reaction can show itself in symptoms which can range from feeling sick to sleeping problems. NHS Choices outlines more…

Defining cases of work-related stress
Defining a case of work-related stress is complicated and is the subject of a 128-page report commissioned by the HSE.

Psychology is defined by the British Psychological Society as ‘the scientific study of people, the mind and behaviour’, and stress is part of this study. There are a different kinds of psychologists, such as clinical, occupational and health psychologists.
The British Psychological Society (BPS) explains what different psychologists do?

 

Occupational medicine is defined by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine as 'the medical specialty which covers the multi-faceted relationship between health and work.'

An occupational physician is a doctor with specialist training and qualifications, who in relation to any particular workplace takes full clinical responsibility for advising management and the workforce on all health matters connected with their employment. The Faculty of Occupational Medicine outlines more.

Occupational health nursing is a nursing specialism which covers health and well-being in the workplace. For more information, visit the websites of the Association of Occupational Health Nurse Practitioners and the Royal College of Nursing.

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor with special training in mental illnesses and emotional problems. The Royal College of Psychiatrists outlines more.

 

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a treatment option for work-related mental ill health that has some evidence base for its efficacy (see The British Occupational Health Research Foundation’s Systematic review of workplace interventions for people with common mental health problems). CBT is defined by NHS Direct as ‘a psychological treatment for mental health conditions. Treatment usually takes between 8 and 20 sessions. It is a combination of cognitive therapy, which can modify or eliminate your unwanted thoughts and beliefs, and behavioural therapy, which can help you to your change behaviour in response to those thoughts.’