Figures obtained from the Health and Safety Executive this week reveal that more and more housing officers are suffering serious injury in the line of duty. The number who receive major injuries - such as broken bones and wounds requiring hospital admission - have more than doubled since 2002/03. Incidents that lead to them spending more than three days off work have also doubled.

On the face of it, when it comes to health and safety at work, housing officers have never had it so bad.

The rest of the housing workforce isn’t faring much better. A major, exclusive survey of housing officers, managers and executives by Inside Housing and The Resourcing Group reveals that 50 per cent are either ‘extremely’ or ‘quite’ stressed at work.

Forty-four per cent of the 608 respondents felt overworked and 11 per cent of respondents said their stress levels had increased because of workplace bullying. ‘Too much work and not enough staff’ was the most familiar refrain.

Both stories should act as a wake-up call for the sector’s chief executives and directors of housing. Public money might be too tight to mention but this means that the most senior staff must pay even more attention to maintaining morale.

Peabody and Affinity Sutton are pressing for the law to be changed to protect staff from dangerous dogs while doing their jobs, providing one example of positive action that can be taken.

Good internal communication is also vital in uncertain times. Even with the stresses, the sector is lucky to have a highly motivated workforce. Most respondents to the survey expressed their love for what they do. As one chief executive stated, the fact they help to improve tenants’ lives ‘makes the job so worthwhile’.

The HSE statistics and our job satisfaction survey serve as a reminder that, with funding cuts on the horizon, the sector must not make the mistake of taking this enthusiasm for granted.

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