Stress in the workplace: a risk assessment approach to reduction of risk

Mental ill‐health in the workplace is estimated to cost UK employers £6.2b each year in lost working days. This concern to employers and employees alike was recently highlighted by the Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) needs assessment study of workplace health promotion, which identified stress as a major issue. A Health and Safety Executive review (1993) of the stress literature proposed the incorporation of stress within the framework of the assessment and control cycle already introduced to minimise physical health and safety risks. This was supported by the HEBS study that identified health and safety as the predominant health‐related culture in Scottish workplaces. It is therefore appropriate to include stress control with other health and safety issues. The Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) had already developed a risk assessment approach, entitled the Organisational Stress Health Audit (OSHA), and the feasibility of this was tested in the pilot study commissioned by HEBS. This paper presents the background to this organisational approach, its feasibility in controlling stress across different types of organisation and future plans for development of the approach. The views presented are those of the researchers and not the commissioning body.