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    HSE Management Standards Indicator Tool

    The UK Health and Safety Executive's Management Standards approach is the primary framework for assessing work-related stress in the United Kingdom. The Indicator Tool is a 35-item survey covering six key stress domains that employers are legally required to manage.

    Overview

    Publisher

    Health and Safety Executive (HSE), United Kingdom

    Format

    35-item Indicator Tool with Analysis Tool for benchmarking against UK working population

    Benchmarking

    Free Analysis Tool compares results against national benchmarks using a traffic-light system

    The Six Stress Domains

    Demands

    8 items

    Includes workload, work patterns, and the work environment. Covers issues like excessive hours, unrealistic deadlines, and difficult work conditions.

    Control

    6 items

    How much say employees have over the way they do their work. Includes autonomy, skill use, and influence over working pace.

    Support

    5 items

    Encouragement, sponsorship, and resources provided by the organisation, line management, and colleagues.

    Relationships

    4 items

    Promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour such as bullying.

    Role

    5 items

    Whether employees understand their role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures they do not have conflicting roles.

    Change

    3 items

    How organisational change is managed and communicated. Whether employees are engaged and supported through change.

    Strengths

    Government-backed and free to use — widely adopted across UK organisations
    Simple 35-item survey minimises completion fatigue
    Built-in benchmarking against UK working population norms
    Clear regulatory backing — directly referenced by HSE enforcement
    Well-established approach with 20+ years of use
    Covers the six primary stress domains required under UK law

    Limitations

    Only 6 domains — the narrowest coverage of any major instrument
    Does not cover recognition, reward, organisational justice, fatigue, job insecurity, or trauma
    Anonymous only — no individual-level identification or action
    UK-specific benchmarks — not applicable to Australian regulatory context
    Episodic — designed for periodic use, not continuous monitoring
    No coverage of intrusive surveillance, remote work, work-life balance, or harmful environment
    Primarily stress-focused — does not address the full spectrum of psychosocial hazards
    Covers only 6 of the 17 Comcare hazards that Australian regulators now reference

    Not Fit for Australian Compliance

    The HSE Management Standards cover only 6 of the 17 psychosocial hazards that Australian regulators now reference. Using this tool alone would leave an organisation significantly non-compliant with Comcare, WorkSafe Victoria, or SafeWork NSW requirements. Its UK benchmarks are also not transferable to the Australian workforce context.