The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging employers to move beyond awareness and take practical steps to prevent work-related stress, as World Mental Health Day 2025 is marked (10 October).

In 2023/24 around half of all work-related ill health in Great Britain was due to stress, depression or anxiety, with affected workers taking 20 days off on average, the HSE says, with the costs to businesses clear: more absence, lower productivity and higher turnover.

Kayleigh Roberts, the HSE’s work-related stress policy lead, said: “We’re asking employers to keep talking – but start doing. Even small changes, like reviewing workloads or improving communication, can make a big difference. The organisations that thrive are those that tackle the root causes of stress early.”

The HSE says its Working Minds campaign helps employers prevent stress by focusing on six key areas: demands, control, support, relationships, role clarity and change. Its five steps provide a clear framework for action:

• Reach out
• Recognise
• Respond
• Reflect
• make it Routine

With 18,000 leaders having already accessed the HSE’s free tools and training, the organisation recommends starting with one of the following steps:

• Review workloads and deadlines
• Improve communication and feedback
• Use its Talking Toolkit to support conversations
• Complete a stress risk assessment using its templates
• Encourage managers to complete its free training module.