Updated
Original VAYEMA symptom and impact self-check – not a validated scale
Work-related stress
Answer the symptom statements below to see which experiences and areas of daily life you report as most affected. These are original VAYEMA questions, not a validated diagnostic scale. No clinical severity or probability score is calculated.
Answers are processed only in this page by this assessment. They are not submitted, monitored or automatically saved. No name, email or account is required. Use a private device and clear your answers when finished.
For adults aged 18 and over. This self-check cannot diagnose or rule out a condition. Concerns about a child require an age-appropriate professional assessment.
Thinking about the past four weeks, how well does each statement describe your experience?
Additional context – not included in any questionnaire score
These are original VAYEMA questions, not a diagnostic instrument or a validated severity scale. They summarise the experiences you select and do not predict a diagnosis or future harm. Background condition information; this source does not endorse this self-check.
Clarify what kind of assessment you are arranging
A personal clinical assessment looks at your health and support needs. An occupational-health assessment considers health in relation to work within an agreed role. An employer’s stress risk assessment examines working conditions and risks. These processes may inform one another, but they are not interchangeable. Ask which one is being offered and what its outcome is intended to be.
The HSE resource on stress risk assessment concerns organisational action rather than diagnosing an individual. This worksheet does not replace that process. VAYEMA’s clinical pathway begins with understanding your needs and discussing appropriate care; it should not be assumed to provide an employment determination simply because the concerns are connected with work.
Begin with the problem you want help understanding
You might be seeking help because sleep has changed, you dread work, relationships feel strained or ordinary decisions are taking much longer. Describe the concern in your own words. You do not need to choose between stress, burnout, anxiety or depression before the appointment. A clinician can explore the pattern and explain which possibilities need consideration.
It can help to state what you hope the conversation will clarify. Perhaps you want to understand whether a medical review is needed, how to manage worry or what support could make a return to work more manageable. These goals give the assessment direction without predetermining its conclusion. A useful first appointment should reduce confusion rather than require a completed diagnosis from you.
Map demands and resources, not only personal symptoms
The HSE work-design framework considers demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. Those areas can help organise an account of what is happening. For example, a problem may involve unclear priorities or insufficient resources rather than simply the number of hours worked. Explain where expectations and available capacity do not fit.
Choose one or two examples instead of assembling a complete evidence file for the clinician. You could describe repeated last-minute changes or difficulty obtaining a decision that others expect you to act on. Keep confidential details out of the website worksheet. The point is to identify the relevant conditions and their effect, not to decide responsibility for an employment dispute through a self-test.
Describe how health and daily functioning have changed
A clinician may ask about mood, sleep, concentration, physical symptoms, appetite, irritability and the ability to enjoy life outside work. The NHS stress guidance describes varied experiences and when help is appropriate. One symptom does not prove that work is the sole cause or that a particular diagnosis applies.
Include hidden effort as well as visible outcomes. Meeting targets may require abandoning rest, relationships or ordinary self-care. Alternatively, you may notice a clear decline in tasks that were previously straightforward. Both accounts can be useful. The assessment should understand the changes from your usual life rather than judge the problem solely by attendance, seniority or outward success.
Consider timing and what happens away from work
An approximate timeline may reveal whether symptoms followed a role change, increased demand, illness or another event. Describe periods when the pattern eased and what was different then. Feeling better during a break can be useful information, but does not independently identify a diagnosis or establish that returning to unchanged demands will be manageable.
You can also explain pressures outside work, such as caring responsibilities, financial uncertainty or a health problem. These details should provide context, not shift blame away from harmful working conditions. A realistic plan needs to know what recovery opportunities and practical supports are actually available. You do not need to account for every hour or prove one single cause before receiving help.
Medical history and other mental-health concerns matter
Persistent fatigue, severe sleep difficulty or new physical symptoms may need medical evaluation. Current medicines, substance use and existing conditions can also affect concentration and wellbeing. A clinician should consider these factors rather than conclude that everything is stress because work has been difficult. Immediate or potentially life-threatening physical symptoms need appropriate urgent care.
Depression, anxiety and other concerns may coexist with work-related stress. The depression assessment guide and anxiety assessment guide explain different questions. These are optional resources, not a requirement to complete several tests. Tell the assessor what is affecting you and ask how they will bring the relevant information together.
Why a stress questionnaire cannot decide the whole plan
A questionnaire can organise selected responses, but it does not examine every possible cause, assess job-specific safety or determine what your employer should do. Published instruments vary in purpose and interpretation. A workplace survey about conditions is different from a clinical symptom measure. The fact that a website produces a numerical result does not make it a diagnostic assessment.
This page does not reproduce the HSE Stress Indicator Tool, a burnout inventory or another validated scale. Its prompts have no cut-off and produce no severity category. Bring a previous result if it helps explain your concern, but include the experiences behind it. A low score should not prevent a conversation when health or functioning is being affected, and a high one should not choose treatment automatically.
Clarify privacy before a report is prepared
Ask who the assessment is for, what will be recorded and who will receive any summary. A treating-clinician letter, an occupational report and an employer survey have different purposes. Their confidentiality and sharing arrangements should be explained within the relevant service and jurisdiction. Do not assume that paying for an appointment or arranging it automatically determines access to every clinical detail.
You may want a concise practical summary rather than a detailed account of private history for a workplace discussion. Raise that before the report is written. The notes here remain separate from any such process and are not sent to an employer or the clinic. Avoid adding colleagues’ identifying information, internal documents or material that is not necessary for your own preparation.
Use the appointment to distinguish possible next steps
The outcome may involve psychological care, medical review, occupational advice, practical changes or a combination. Ask which problem each recommendation addresses and who is responsible for it. The WHO workplace guidance recognises organisational action alongside individual support. An assessment should not leave you with personal coping tasks while ignoring the demands that prompted the concern.
Our work stress support guide explains these different roles. A clear initial plan includes practical arrangements and a review point. It need not settle every career decision at once. You can ask what is uncertain, what changes would require earlier contact and whether another professional’s expertise is needed before an important decision is made.
Make review about a sustainable life, not just a better score
Useful review questions concern sleep, distress, functioning, relationships and whether the working conditions have changed in practice. A symptom total may contribute information, but it cannot capture every consequence. You might be working fewer hours while recovering capacity elsewhere, or producing the same work at a continuing cost to health. Those differences should be part of the discussion.
Ask when and how the plan will be reconsidered. If a proposed change has not happened or a treatment is difficult to use, explain that directly. A review can distinguish lack of benefit from barriers to implementation rather than assume you need more effort. The understanding guide provides background without replacing that individual conversation.
Use the worksheet only as much as it helps
A few notes are enough. You can leave prompts blank, use approximate dates or attend without written preparation. The review function repeats what you wrote without interpretation. Nothing entered here is monitored, transmitted to VAYEMA or automatically added to a clinical record. A download is optional and should be kept privately on your own device.
For planned care, ask about private assessment and the appropriate professional. Routine inquiries are not an emergency channel. Suicidal intent, immediate danger, inability to remain safe or a medical emergency needs appropriate urgent services rather than completion of this page. Preparation should make support easier to access, not create another condition you must satisfy before asking for help.
Frequently asked questions about work stress assessment
Is this an employer stress risk assessment?
No. It is a personal preparation worksheet for a professional conversation. Employer risk assessment concerns working conditions and organisational action, while a clinical assessment considers your health and care needs. The two can relate to each other, but one does not automatically replace the other.
Will the worksheet calculate a stress score?
No. The prompts are original and unscored. They do not reproduce a validated instrument or classify stress severity. Review and download simply repeat your chosen notes. A clinician can consider those observations alongside history and functioning without treating the worksheet as a diagnostic test.
Do I need to bring detailed workplace evidence?
A few concrete examples are usually enough to begin discussing health and support. A clinical appointment is not automatically a formal employment investigation. Ask what information is useful and avoid sharing unnecessary confidential business or third-party material. Keep uncertain details clearly identified as uncertain.
Can the assessment certify that I am fit to work?
This online tool cannot. Any clinical or occupational assessment intended to address work capacity needs an explicit scope, relevant expertise and appropriate local arrangements. Ask what the appointment and any report are intended to establish rather than assume a stress score can determine work safety.
Will my employer see my notes?
The website worksheet does not send them to anyone. A downloaded file is under your control. If a later consultation involves a workplace report, its purpose and sharing arrangements should be discussed separately. Do not assume that private clinical preparation and employer reporting are the same process.
Can I ask for support without taking time off first?
Yes. You can seek a conversation while still working. The relevant question is how health and functioning are being affected, not whether absence has already occurred. An assessment can help clarify suitable care and practical options before difficulties become more severe.
Resources and references
[1] HSE: Stress risk assessment
[2] HSE: Causes of work-related stress