Summary
• Stress is an adverse reaction to excessive pressure or demands.
• Stress can affect people mentally – in the form of anxiety and depression – and physically – in the form of heart disease, back pain and alcohol and drug dependency.
• HSE estimate that work-related stress costs about £3.7 billion a year.
• Employers have a legal duty to assess the risk of work-related stress and to take measures to control these risks.
• The government aims to work with employers, employees , trade unions and others in achieving a 20% reduction in the incidence of work-relates stress by 2010.
• This booklet relates Acas advice to the Health and Safety Executive's six management standards concerned with the main stressors at work.