What Are the HSE Management Standards for Work-Related Stress?

Work-related stress is not simply about having a busy week or feeling under pressure before a deadline. When workplace pressures become excessive or difficult to manage, they can affect an employee’s health, wellbeing and ability to perform their role.

For employers, this makes managing work-related stress an important part of creating a healthy and supportive workplace. It is also something that needs to be considered as part of an organisation’s approach to health and safety.

The HSE Management Standards provide a framework to help employers identify and manage some of the key workplace factors that can contribute to stress.

But what exactly are the standards, and what do they mean in practice?

The HSE Management Standards were developed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to help organisations manage the risks associated with work-related stress.

They are based around six areas of work that, when poorly managed, are associated with poor health and wellbeing, lower productivity and increased sickness absence.

These are:

Demands – This includes issues such as workload, working patterns and the working environment. Employees should be able to cope with the demands of their role, with reasonable workloads and appropriate resources available to them.

Control – Employees should have an appropriate level of input into how they carry out their work. A lack of autonomy or control can contribute to feelings of stress, particularly when employees feel they have little influence over their workload or working practices.

Support – Employees should receive appropriate information, encouragement and resources from the organisation, their managers and their colleagues. This can include practical support as well as creating an environment where people feel comfortable asking for help.

Relationships – Organisations should promote positive working relationships and have processes in place to deal with unacceptable behaviour, conflict and bullying.

Role – Employees should understand their responsibilities and what is expected of them. Organisations should also take steps to prevent conflicting roles or expectations from creating unnecessary pressure.

Change – When organisational change takes place, employees should be kept informed and appropriately involved. Poorly communicated or managed change can create significant uncertainty and stress.

Together, these six areas form the foundation of the HSE stress management standards and provide employers with a useful way to examine where workplace stress risks may be developing.

Employers have a legal duty to protect employees from risks to their health and safety, and this includes risks arising from work-related stress.

The HSE advises employers to assess the risk of stress in the same way they would assess other workplace health and safety risks. This means identifying potential hazards, considering who may be affected and taking reasonable steps to reduce or control those risks.

The HSE Management Standards help organisations approach this systematically.

Rather than waiting until an employee becomes unwell, takes sickness absence or raises a concern, employers can use the framework to look at the working environment itself.

For example, are workloads consistently unrealistic? Do managers have the skills and confidence to recognise when members of their team are struggling? Are employees clear about their roles? Is organisational change being communicated effectively?

These questions shift the focus from simply helping individuals cope with stress towards understanding whether workplace practices may be contributing to it.

This distinction matters.

Wellbeing initiatives can be valuable, but providing access to mindfulness apps, wellbeing days or employee assistance programmes does not remove an employer’s responsibility to consider the causes of work-related stress.

Effective stress management requires organisations to look at both employee support and the way work is designed and managed.

Implementing the standards does not necessarily mean introducing an entirely new wellbeing programme. It means building a structured approach to identifying, assessing and managing psychosocial risks within the organisation.

A good starting point is understanding what is happening across the workforce.

Organisations can gather information through staff surveys, sickness absence data, employee turnover, exit interviews, one-to-one conversations and feedback from managers. The HSE also provides a Management Standards Indicator Tool that can help organisations explore employee experiences across the six areas.

However, gathering information is only the beginning.

Employers need to consider what the findings are telling them and identify practical actions to address potential risks.

If employees report excessive demands, for example, the answer may involve reviewing workloads, staffing levels or deadlines. If support is a concern, managers may need additional training and clearer processes for responding when an employee is struggling.

Leadership plays an important role here.

Managers are often the people closest to employees' day-to-day experiences. Giving managers and leaders the knowledge and confidence to recognise potential stress risks, have appropriate conversations and understand when further support is required can strengthen an organisation’s overall approach.

Most importantly, managing work-related stress should be an ongoing process rather than a one-off exercise. Workplaces change, teams change and new pressures emerge. Organisations therefore need to review their approach regularly and continue listening to employees.

The HSE Management Standards provide organisations with a clear framework for understanding some of the workplace conditions that can contribute to stress.

By looking at demands, control, support, relationships, role and change, employers can move beyond responding to problems after they occur and begin identifying risks earlier.

Creating a mentally healthy workplace does not mean eliminating every source of pressure. Some pressure is a normal part of working life. The goal is to recognise when workplace pressures could become harmful and have appropriate systems, leadership and support in place to manage them.

At Mental Health in Business, we help organisations take a practical, proactive approach to workplace mental health. Through training, consultancy and support for managers and leaders, we help businesses build the knowledge and confidence needed to create healthier working environments.

Understanding the HSE Management Standards is an important part of that process – and a useful starting point for any organisation looking to take the management of work-related stress seriously.