📉 The "Quiet Crisis": Workplace Stress Has Doubled in 25 Years

lansburyservices
Dec 17, 2025
2 min read

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has just released its 2024/25 annual statistics, and the figures are a wake-up call for every employer in the UK. We are currently facing a mental health epidemic in the workplace that cannot be ignored.

What's Happened?

The prevalence of work-related stress, anxiety, and depression has more than doubled over the last quarter-century.

The Scale: In 2001/02, there were 1,380 cases per 100,000 workers. Today, that figure has soared to 2,770 per 100,000.
The Impact: An estimated 964,000 workers are currently suffering from these conditions, leading to a staggering 22.1 million working days lost this year alone.
The Severity: On average, each case results in 22.9 days of absence - far higher than physical injuries.
The Trend: Despite moving past the pandemic, rates in each of the last three years have remained consistently higher than 2018/19 levels.

What does it mean for you?

Mental health is no longer a "fringe" HR issue; it is the primary driver of work-related ill health in Great Britain. The HSE's report identifies clear "red flag" triggers that are within an employer's control:

Workload Pressures: Tight deadlines and excessive responsibility are the #1 reported cause.
Managerial Failures: A lack of support and role uncertainty (not knowing what is expected) are cited as major contributors.
Cultural Issues: Bullying and organisational change continue to erode employee stability.

As HSE Chief Executive Sarah Albon noted, while the UK is one of the safest places to work physically, workplace health challenges—specifically mental health—are persisting and growing.

Our advice to you

A high rate of stress-related absence is often a symptom of systemic issues, not individual "lack of resilience." To protect your team and your bottom line, we recommend:

Conduct Stress Risk Assessments: Treat mental health with the same rigor as physical safety. Identify where the "pressure points" are in your specific departments.
Clarify Roles and Responsibilities: Role uncertainty is a major stressor. Ensure every team member has a clear, up-to-date job description and understands how their success is measured.
Upskill Managers: Most managers are promoted for technical skill, not people skills. Invest in training that helps them spot early signs of burnout and provide meaningful support before an employee needs to take leave.
Review "Deadline Culture": Evaluate if your current deadlines are realistic or if they are "aspirational" targets that are actually driving up absenteeism and reducing overall productivity.