Workplace Stress Risk Assessment
Use this workplace stress risk assessment to determine whether the cause of stress is because of work demand, management and control, support, relationship, role and change. This record can be used as basis for leaders to reflect what actions plans they need to take to lessen work stress.
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How to Use This Checklist
- **Record the context.** Complete the Audit section first — the date conducted, who prepared it, and the location. This anchors the assessment to a particular time, person and place so the findings can be revisited later.
- **Work through the six risk areas in order.** The checklist then moves through Work Demands, Control, Support, Relationships, Role and Change, with the questions grouped so that you can see which aspect of work each one belongs to.
- **Ask the staff concerned.** Most of the questions ask what staff think or feel, so put them directly to the people doing the work. For example, ask whether staff are comfortable with the amount of work, whether they are involved in deciding what work they do and when and how they do it, and whether they feel encouraged to use their initiative.
- **Record each answer as Yes, No or N/A.** Answer every applicable question so that no area is left unexamined. Use N/A only where a question genuinely does not apply to the role or team being assessed.
- **Pay attention to the 'No' answers.** These are the areas where the working conditions described in the question are absent — for instance, a 'No' to whether staff are clear about what is expected of them, or to whether they receive adequate and regular communication about organisational change. Each one is a candidate for action.
- **Share the findings and agree an action plan.** The record is explicitly designed as a basis for leaders to reflect on the action plans needed to lessen work stress. Go through the results with the people who can act on them and agree what will change.
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Why assess stress in the workplace
Work-related stress shows up in how the work is organised, not only in how individual people respond to it. A risk assessment approach looks at the conditions you can change — the demands placed on staff, the control they have over their work, the support available to them, the quality of working relationships, the clarity of their role, and how change is handled. This checklist is built to help you examine exactly those areas, so that stress is treated as something to be identified and addressed through how work is designed and managed, rather than as a personal matter. The assessment is useful in two directions. It gives you a structured picture of where pressure is building, and it produces a written record that leaders can use as the basis for deciding what actions to take to lessen it.
Work demands
The Work Demands section examines whether the volume, pace and intensity of work are reasonable. It asks whether staff are comfortable with the amount of work, whether the timescales for that work are too much, and whether the intensity is too great for the individuals concerned. These questions look at the shape of the work itself — its quantity, its deadlines, and its tempo — rather than at any one person's capacity to cope.
Control
The Control section looks at how much say staff have over their work and how their skills are used. It covers involvement in deciding what work is done and when and how it is carried out, whether work is repetitive, whether there is variety in activities, whether working time is flexible, and whether staff can decide when to take breaks. It also asks whether skills are used appropriately, whether there is room to develop new ones, whether the work requires initiative, and whether staff feel encouraged to use it. Job satisfaction and scope for development sit alongside day-to-day control here.
Support
The Support section covers the support staff receive from management, from colleagues, and in terms of their working arrangements. It asks whether staff are considered when work is planned, whether work is regularly monitored, and whether managers meet with staff to see how work is going. It also asks whether adequate managerial support is offered for new work issues, everyday work issues and personal issues; whether colleagues are supportive; whether a healthy work/life balance is supported; and how well managers listen.
Relationships
The Relationships section deals with how people treat one another at work. It asks whether there are issues concerning workplace relationship conflicts within the team, whether there are problems with bullying or harassment, and whether there are policies through which staff can raise concerns about another member of staff. It also asks whether the employee feels that the organisation as a whole — managers and colleagues — is caring and trusting.
Role
The Role section is about clarity and understanding. It asks whether staff are clear about what is expected of them, whether they have a plan of work agreed with their manager, and whether they are encouraged to raise uncertainties about priorities early. It covers consistency and clarity in the job role, whether staff struggle with multiple or conflicting roles, whether they have received appropriate training to do the role effectively, whether they are comfortable raising concerns, and whether they are kept informed about business needs and the reasons for decisions. It also asks whether staff understand how their role fits into the overall business aims.
Change
The Change section covers how organisational change is communicated. It asks whether staff feel they receive adequate and regular communication and consultation when change is occurring, and whether they understand why the change needs to happen. The questions are concerned with how change is explained and discussed, not with the merits of any particular change.
How the checklist is structured
The checklist opens with an Audit section that records when and where the assessment was carried out, who prepared it, and the inspection start and end dates, together with a signature. It then presents the questions across the sections described above, with the answer options of Yes, No and N/A. Completing it produces a dated record that identifies which aspects of work are causing concern and provides the basis for a proportionate action plan.
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