Unite to survey stress in charities

The general Unite union is to launch a major survey of stress in the voluntary sector after research showed that the financial crisis facing charities is undermining the well-being of more than 90% of staff.

The union says that the survey of members will involve more than 2,500 Unite reps. The union’s national officer for the not-for-profit sector, Rachel Maskell, said: “Stress in the workplace is like a modern day plague – it is virulent and can strike at any time, and is indiscriminate as to who its victim is.”

The campaign will culminate with a national conference in November and will give workplace activists the tools to take up issues of stress with management.

The latest figures from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) show that in 2008-09 an estimated 415,000 people believed that they were experiencing work-related stress at a level that was making them ill.