A nation of stress
British citizens are experiencing stress like never before. The Health and Safety Executive reported that work-related stress, anxiety and depression cases reached a record high in 2024/25 with 964,000 workers affected, a doubling of reported rates over the last 25 years.
According to the wellbeing survey in 2023 by the Office for National Statistics, 23.5% of UK adults reported high anxiety levels, up from 20% in 2018.
There are many causes of stress that we can do little to influence, job insecurity, rising cost of living, inadequate and declining public services, unaffordable housing, lack of opportunity for young people.
Death by a thousand Cuts
​But there are many small sources of stress, each of which is perhaps a minor irritation, but whose cumulative effect can be more damaging than short bursts of stress. We are built to fight or flee. When the causes of stress are small, frequent and never fully resolved, we feel that we have to be continuously alert to threats. Medically, this is harmful. People with no means of addressing the stress factors are more likely to resort to alcohol or drink as a coping strategy than people who are better equipped to cope. They are also more likely to be medically unfit for work.The causes of stress in our daily lives are wide-ranging. This blog focuses on the causes of stress that are created by the private sector, often unwittingly aided and abetted by government.The purpose of this blog is to make people and politicians aware through a series of articles of the many ways in which business entities, small and large, create stress.