Employers have been advised to look to the Health and Safety Executive for advice on how to manage stress in the workplace.

Ann McCracken, chair of the International Stress Management Association UK, said Britons who are feeling stressed – which may have come as a result of the recent recession or concern over job security – need to regain control of their lives.

She added that this meant making decisions about what they could manage and what they could not.

Speaking to managers, HR professionals and other employers, Ms McCracken said: “They need to follow their stress management policy. They need to look at the six risk factors that have been clearly identified by the Health & Safety Executive; they are control, support, demand, relationship, role and change.”

The key to beating stress would mean a combination of managers taking steps not to overload workers and employees communicating their concerns to employers, she concluded.

Her comments come after research from Mintel revealed up to 40 million people in the UK are currently suffering from stress, with 40 per cent sighting financial problems as the source of their anxiety.

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