The most recent RCVS survey of the veterinary professions carried out in 2024 found that, of those surveyed, 91% of veterinary surgeons and 93% of veterinary nurses agreed that their work is stressful².
When we experience a situation as stressful, the body releases the hormone adrenaline, which causes a number of physical changes, including increased heart rate and respiration rate. This ‘fight or flight’ response evolved as a survival mechanism enabling humans to fight off or run away from physical threats to our safety, but it also occurs in response to experiences that we find psychologically unsettling or threatening. If stress at work occurs frequently or is prolonged, it can result in physical and psychological health problems.
The shorter-term effects of work-related stress include headaches, digestive problems, feelings of irritability or anxiety, and disturbance of sleep. In the longer term, stress can affect immune system function and cardiac health, and can increase the risk of anxiety and depressive disorders. Protracted stress can result in burnout, which is characterised by feelings of exhaustion, a sense of being less effective at work, and feeling detached from others. More information about the signs and symptoms of stress are available on the Mind website. Effective stress management is important not only for workers’ health and wellbeing, but there is also a clear business case for reducing work-related stress. Work stress can impair job performance and productivity, increase sickness absence, and affect staff retention.
In Great Britain in 2024-25, 21.1 million working days were lost to work-related stress, representing 52% of all working days lost to work-related ill-health³.
