Work Related Stress
The Health and Safety Executive indicates that stress and related conditions formed the second most commonly reported group of work-related ill-health conditions after musculoskeletal disorders.
A 2007 survey also indicated that work-related stress, depression or anxiety affected 530,000 people in Great Britain and result in an estimated 13.8 million lost working days due to these work-related conditions in Britain in 2006/07.
This represents an estimated average of 30.2 working days lost per year per affected case and makes stress, depression or anxiety one of the largest contributors to the overall estimated annual days lost from work-related ill-health in 2006/7.
Of the estimated 530,000 persons affected with work-related stress, depression or anxiety, an estimated 245 000 first became aware of their condition within the last 12 months and an estimated half a million people reported workplace stress at a level that was making them ill.
Simple self-reporting of stress may be affected by many factors, such as awareness of and attitudes to stress, which may vary markedly with time.
The Stress and Health at Work (SHAW) study conducted in 1998 estimated that 1 in 5 of the British working population believed their job was extremely or very stressful. The more recently conducted PWC surveys estimated that 13.6% in 2007 of British workers believed their jobs were extremely or very stressful.
When asked, "What situations/activities do you find stressful?" Workers replied:
- Rush Hour Travel - 45%
- Work - 34%
- Managing work/home balance - 31%
- Children's future - 31%
- Financial planning - 29%
- Paying household bills - 26%
- Shopping - 26%
- New technology - 20%
- Domestic relationships - 19%
- Housework - 16%
- Holiday trips - 14%