Employers are urged to tackle workplace stress

The advice comes from law firm Blake Morgan, which has offices in Portsmouth and Southampton and specialises in employment matters. It comes amid statistics that indicate stress is on the rise.

According to the CIPD Absence Management Survey 2016, the average level of employee absence has fallen slightly compared to the previous year from 6.9 days per employee per year to 6.3 days.

However, nearly a third of respondents reported an increase in stress-related absence in the past year and this increased to half of public sector organisations. Workload, non-work factors and management style are the top three causes of stress at work.

Tim Forer, from Blake Morgan, said: ‘Healthy, productive and motivated staff are crucial to an organisation’s success and no organisation will flourish if they have staff, particularly in key roles, absent from the business for, potentially, an extended period.’

Blake Morgan has also set up its own mental health scheme for its employees.