NHS Workplace Wellbeing Reflection Checklist

A private, unhurried way to think through work-related stress using the six areas in the HSE Management Standards, and to prepare notes if you decide to talk to someone. Not a test, not a score, and nothing is saved.

Part of FrontlinePay's NHS Welfare & Wellbeing guides, built around Work-Related Stress and the HSE Management Standards.

Short answer

This is a reflection checklist, not a mental health assessment. It uses the six areas the Health and Safety Executive says affect stress at work: demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. For each, you choose how it feels and can jot a private note. You then get a plain summary and some questions you could ask a manager, occupational health, a union or staff-side rep, or your GP, if you decide to. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere. If you need to talk to someone now, call Samaritans on 116 123 or text SHOUT to 85258 (Shout text service), any time.

If you need to talk to someone now

  • Samaritans: free, 24 hours a day

    Call 116 123 any time. You do not need to be in crisis to call.

  • Shout text service: free, confidential, 24/7

    Text NHSPH to 85258. Shout is a UK crisis text service, and NHS Practitioner Health lists this keyword on its crisis support page.

  • NHS 111 for urgent help that is not an emergency

    Call 111 for the 24/7 mental health support line in England and Wales. In an emergency, or if you might hurt yourself or someone else, call 999 or go to A&E.

There are no right or wrong answers and no rush. Answer in any order, skip anything you would rather not think about, and stop whenever you like. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

Demands

Workload, work patterns, and your working environment

Control

How much say you have over how you do your work

Support

Encouragement and resources from your organisation and managers

Relationships

Positive working relationships, and how conflict is handled

Role

Whether you understand your role and it doesn't conflict with itself

Change

How organisational change is managed and communicated to you

Answer whichever areas you like, then see your notes.

The six HSE work-related stress factors

HSE's Management Standards cover six key areas of work design that, if not properly managed, are associated with poor health, lower productivity and increased accident and sickness absence. They were designed for employers to assess risk across a workplace, and the same six areas are a helpful way for an individual to make sense of what is going on.

AreaWhat HSE says it covers
DemandsIssues such as workload, work patterns and the work environment.
ControlHow much say the person has in the way they do their work.
SupportThe encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues.
RelationshipsPromoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour.
RoleWhether people understand their role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures they do not have conflicting roles.
ChangeHow organisational change (large or small) is managed and communicated in the organisation.

For the full explanation and how employers are expected to use the framework, read Work-Related Stress and the HSE Management Standards.

What does your employer have to do about work-related stress?

HSE says employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it. HSE describes following its Management Standards approach correctly as suitable and sufficient, and publishes free tools. These include Talking Toolkits that help managers talk with workers, with versions for NHS England, NHS Scotland and NHS Wales. HSE's guidance on signs of stress notes that a change in how someone acts, thinks or feels can be a sign, that these signs can be symptoms of other conditions, and that workers who think they have a problem can talk to their manager, a colleague or their GP.

How your trust turns that duty into practice differs between organisations and teams. If you want to know what is in place, ask your manager, occupational health or HR, and consider asking a union or staff-side rep to help. Our guide to NHS staff representation explains who can help.

How to raise it at work

  1. Decide what you want from the conversation. It might be a change to workload or rota, more support, a clearer role, or simply being heard.
  2. Use your notes. The checklist gives you questions you could ask for each area you flagged. You are free to use none of them.
  3. Choose who to talk to. A manager is often the first step, but you can start with a colleague, occupational health, a union or staff-side rep, or your GP.
  4. Ask for follow-up. Agree what will happen next and when you will check in again.
  5. Keep a record of what was agreed, in whatever form feels right to you.

If the problem is a specific behaviour towards you, the NHS grievance procedure guide explains the formal route, and a long-term condition or disability may bring reasonable adjustments.

Occupational health and other support

Occupational health can look at how work and health affect each other and advise you and your employer. See occupational health referrals explained for how referrals work. Your GP can look at the health side. NHS Practitioner Health is a confidential NHS mental health and addiction service for health and care staff who cannot easily get confidential care locally, on 0300 0303 300 (see practitionerhealth.nhs.uk for who can use it). Your trust may also offer staff wellbeing support, and your union may have a helpline.

!If you need to talk to someone now

Call Samaritans free on 116 123, any time. Text NHSPH to 85258 for the Shout text service, any time. Call NHS 111 for urgent mental health support in England and Wales. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E. NHS Practitioner Health says it does not operate a crisis service, and lists these services on its crisis support page.

What this checklist is not

It is not a mental health test, a screening tool or a diagnosis. It gives no score or rating, does not tell you whether you are "stressed", and cannot replace a conversation with a GP or another professional. It is not a formal stress risk assessment, which is something your employer carries out.

Your privacy

Your answers and notes stay in your browser tab and disappear when you close or refresh it. They are not saved to your device, put in the web address, or sent to us. We record only that the checklist was used, with no answers. The print and copy buttons make a copy that only you hold.

Sources

What this checklist does and does not do

  • ✓ Uses HSE's six real factors, in HSE's own terms.
  • ✓ Gives a plain summary and questions you could ask. Never a score, risk level or rating.
  • ✓ Treats skipped questions as skipped, not as fine, and lets you stop at any point.
  • ✓ Runs in your browser. Nothing is saved, put in a link or sent anywhere.
  • ✓ Has no share link, because a personal reflection does not belong in a web address.
  • ✓ Shows Samaritans, the Shout text service and NHS 111 at the top and again after your notes, whatever you answer.
  • ✓ Has no sales pitch and no paid tool attached.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a mental health test? +
No. It is not a mental health test, screening tool, clinical assessment or diagnostic instrument, and it never will be. It takes the six areas of work design that the Health and Safety Executive uses in its Management Standards for work-related stress and turns them into reflection prompts, so you can note which feel relevant to you right now. There is no score, no risk level and no interpretation of your answers, just a plain summary of what you chose and some questions you could ask, if you decide to raise something.
What happens to my answers and notes? +
Nothing is saved and nothing is sent anywhere. Your answers and any notes you type stay in your browser tab's memory while it is open. They are not written to your device's storage, not placed in the web address and not sent to FrontlinePay or anyone else. Refresh or close the page and they are gone. If you choose to print or copy your notes, that copy is yours, so think about where it ends up on a shared or work device.
What are the HSE Management Standards? +
They are the Health and Safety Executive's framework for managing work-related stress, covering six areas of work design: demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. HSE says that if these are not properly managed they are associated with poor health, lower productivity and increased accident and sickness absence. HSE also says employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it, and that following the Management Standards approach correctly is considered suitable and sufficient. This checklist mirrors the six areas from the employee's side.
What should I do if I think work is making me stressed? +
HSE's advice for workers is that if you think you have a problem you can talk to your manager, a colleague or your GP. Many NHS staff also use occupational health, a union or staff-side representative, or their trust's staff wellbeing or employee assistance services. HSE notes that signs of stress can be symptoms of other conditions, which is one reason a GP is a sensible place to start if it is affecting your health. This checklist can help you put your thoughts in order first, but you do not need to use it before asking for help.
Does my employer have to do anything about work-related stress? +
According to HSE, employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work by carrying out a risk assessment and acting on it. HSE publishes the Management Standards approach and Talking Toolkits to help, including versions for NHS England, NHS Scotland and NHS Wales. What that looks like in practice varies by trust and team, so ask your manager or occupational health what the trust's process is, and involve a union or staff-side rep if you want support.
Where does NHS Practitioner Health fit in? +
NHS Practitioner Health is a confidential NHS mental health and addiction service for health and care staff who cannot easily get confidential care locally. Eligibility has conditions, so check its website, practitionerhealth.nhs.uk, or call 0300 0303 300. It is not an emergency or crisis service. Its own crisis support page points to Samaritans on 116 123, the Shout text service (text NHSPH to 85258), and NHS 111 for urgent help. For emergencies call 999.
I need to talk to someone right now. What should I do? +
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E. If you need to talk to someone today, you can call Samaritans free on 116 123 at any time, text NHSPH to 85258 to reach the Shout text service at any time, or call NHS 111 for urgent mental health support in England and Wales. These are shown at the top of this page whatever you answer, and you do not need to use the checklist first.
Why is there no score and no share link? +
A single number would pretend to be a clinical measurement when it is not, and could be mistaken for a diagnosis. A shareable link would put something personal into a web address. So the checklist produces a plain summary and private notes only. If you want to give your notes to someone, such as your manager or union rep, you can print or copy them yourself.
Is this only for NHS staff? +
The HSE Management Standards apply to any UK workplace, so the six areas work for anyone. This checklist is written for NHS staff as part of FrontlinePay's wellbeing guides, and the support services and guides it points to are NHS-focused.

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