Businesses across Britain are being called on to identify signs of stress within their workforce and take action to resolve any issues.

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), an estimated 964,000 workers in Britain suffer from work-related stress, depression or anxiety, resulting in 22.1 million working days lost.

These conditions represent half of all work-related ill health and account for 62 per cent of all working days lost due to occupational illness.

The HSE encouraged employers to speak with staff about workplace pressures to help identify potential stress causes and highlight where adjustments are necessary.

Employers were also reminded of their legal obligation to evaluate risks of stress-related ill health stemming from work duties and implement measures to control them.

Work-related stress can arise when the demands of work, and the way it is organised and managed, place excessive or difficult-to-manage pressures on people, said the HSE, which published its report to mark World Mental Health Day.

Kayleigh Roberts, work-related stress policy lead at the HSE, said: “This World Mental Health Day, we’re encouraging employers to listen to their workers and take action on what they hear.

“Having an open conversation can help employers understand the pressures people are experiencing at work and identify where stress risks may exist.

“Our Stress Talking Toolkit provides structured questions and prompts to help employers start those conversations.

“But listening is only the first step.

“Preventing work-related stress means acting on what you hear, whether that’s reviewing workloads, improving communication, giving people more control over their work or providing better support.

“Employers should identify the risks, take action and review whether those actions are working.”

Ruth Wilkinson, of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, said: “National statistics tell us that stress is a big issue in workplaces, one which impacts heavily on workers, businesses and society.

“We encourage businesses to ensure they look at how they manage psychosocial risk factors, such as work demands and design of work, and to ask themselves how well they are communicating with staff.”