National Stress Awareness Day

06 November 2019

Today is National Stress Awareness Day – and Cardiff is apparently the work stress capital of the UK, with almost a quarter of residents from the city have been signed off work in the last year by their GP. Almost a third of residents of Cardiff said they constantly feel stressed and anxious about work, while 28 per cent admit they struggle to sleep because of worries about their job – the national average is 21 per cent.

But stress is not just a Welsh problem – the Health and Safety Executive report that over 11 million days are lost at work a year because of stress at work, and if you’re an employer, you have a legal duty to protect your employees from stress. In fact, if you have 5 or more staff, you are required by law to undertake a written stress at work risk assessment – take a look at this template on the HSE website.

It’s easy to dismiss the damaging effects as the simply fast pace of today’s daily life but stress can take really take its toll health-wise – take the Stress Management Society’s test here to see how you fare, then read The International Stress Management Association’s top tips on how to manage stress effectively.