The third Monday in January is known as Blue Monday and in the South East, including West Berkshire, 30% experience work-related stress on a weekly basis.

This puts West Berkshire in the most stressed region in England and third in the UK, after Wales (43%) and Northern Ireland (31%), according to a recent study on stress at work .

Scotland suffers the least from work-related stress with only 8%.

This year, the “January blues” – and the general gloom after Christmas – have been further compounded by the uncertainty surrounding Covid and the continued rise in cases due to the Omicron variant.

The government is still advising people to work from home whenever possible and this uncertainty could turn into work-related stress for many people.

Even without government restrictions currently in place, work-related stress continues to cause serious problems for businesses, with the number of workdays lost due to stress, anxiety and depression rising steadily since 2017 to reach 54 %.

According to statistics from the latest UK Workplace Stress Survey, 79% of employed UK adults suffer from job stress, up 20% from two years earlier.

The same survey also showed that the South East was the third most stressed region, with 30% of people suffering from work-related stress on a weekly basis.

Tina Chander, head of the Employment Law team at Wright Hassall, said, “These statistics will open the eyes of many employers in the South East to a stark reminder of just how widespread and debilitating work-related stress is.

“Unfortunately for businesses, the emergence of the Omicron variant has led to an increase in the number of new cases, which has forced the government to issue new guidelines, including work-from-home measures, to slow the spread of the virus. .

“While many employees have experienced such measures in previous lockdowns, that does not necessarily mean the impact will be less disruptive this time around, especially if remote working interferes with an employee’s ability to communicate and to collaborate with colleagues.

“It is therefore absolutely vital that employers do what they can to mitigate the risks associated with work-related stress, by taking the time to understand the legal aspects surrounding the issue, while implementing procedures that will protect the interests of their workers.