This can’t be stressed enough
October 1st 2008 A social worker who suffered a heart attack after becoming stressed at work has received £175,000 in compensation, the TUC reports. Though David Walker, 63, has recovered, he was left depressed and unable to return to work following the attack which was said to be brought on by working 12 hour days and most weekends.
As UK Plc tightens its belt in the face of economic uncertainty we can be confident that there is reasonable awareness that this should not be at the expense of workers’ safety (news of the Health & Safety Offences Act receiving Royal Assent being the latest development to reinforce this message). But what about workers’ health? Though progress has been made this year on raising awareness of this issue, with much being made of the estimated £3.7 billion that stress is costing the economy, there is a real risk that economic concerns could result in the issue once again taking a back seat. The truth is that this issue is more important than ever.
Because commercially successful businesses in the 21st century are likely to already be running a pretty tight ship any cut backs in personel could have a significant impact on the health of the remaining workforce. Stress may have traditionally been perceived as an intangible (and some have argued nonexistent) problem, but there is now solid research to link stressful work with a greatly increased risk of heart disease. There is also an increasing number of workers receiving compensation for its effects.
If this issue is not already being managed in your workplace, National Stress Awareness Day coming up on 5th November could be a good place to start. Organised by the International Stress Management Association (ISMA), details of the campaign and how to get involved can be found on their the association’s website: www.isma.org.uk.
Georgina Bisby
Editor
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