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According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) survey report on health and wellbeing at work, published in 2020:

The first problem encountered in any attempt to deal with stress is defining exactly what it is. The difficulties commonly experienced arise:

Stress itself is not actually an illness but it can lead to an enormous range of mental and physical illnesses and health problems, including:

Although there is at present no legislation dealing specifically with stress, there are various pieces of legislation that may be used to bring a case against an employer.

Discussion regarding the risks of stress-related illnesses tends to centre around the following factors:

There are so many factors which can cause stress that a simple listing would be unmanageably long. It is therefore useful to group causes together under broad classifications.

Tackling stress involves a three-stage process:

Supervisors and line managers have a vital role to play in preventing and dealing with stress. In summary, they should: