Stress in the workplace to rise, suggests major European study

Following on from the results of an Occupational Medicine journal survey last month which revealed that the recession has increased workplace stress by 40%, a new survey from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) suggests stress levels are set to rise.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos MORI measured the opinions of over 35,000 members of the general public in 36 European countries on contemporary workplace issues including job-related stress, and the importance of occupational safety and health for economic competitiveness and in the context of longer working lives.

Eight in ten of the working population across Europe think that the number of people suffering from job-related stress over the next five years will increase (80%), with as many as 52% expecting this to 'increase a lot'. This echoes the findings of EUOSHA's ESENER survey on new and emerging workplace risks which found that 79% of managers think that stress is an issue in their companies, making stress at work as important as workplace accidents for companies.

The full results can be found at: osha.europa.eu/ en/safety-health-infigures/ index_html#tabs-2