Employee stress is increasingly recognised as a problem - but measuring stress, accurately diagnosing the causes and actively reducing it can be challenging.

Employees may not admit that time off from work is due to stress. If stress is acknowledged, the wrong causes may be blamed - perhaps excessive workloads rather than difficult workplace relationships.

The Health & Safety Executive now expects organisations to actively assess and manage stress in the workplace. With the right risk management approach, stress-related illness can be reduced, with positive savings for businesses in terms of fewer Employers' Liability (EL) claims and lower EL premiums, a reduced need for replacement staff, recovered productivity, and improved staff morale.

Critical questions you need to consider

• Have you developed a business case to reduce work-related stress, so that senior managers will take it more seriously and organisational progress can be made?

• Have you developed a comprehensive view of stress, taking into consideration wider management data such as staff turnover, and the effectiveness of existing support systems?

• Do you have effective rehabilitation in place?

• Are you properly engaging line managers and involving employees in your initiatives?

• Do line managers feel skilled and confident in addressing this important area of employee risk?