OSH in figures:
Stress at work – Facts and
figures
Stress – facts and figures
Introduction
 Stress is the second most frequentlyreported work-related health problem,
affecting 22% of workers from the EU 27 (in
2005)
Studies suggest that stress is a factor in
between 50% and 60% of all lost working
days. This represents a huge cost in terms of
both human distress and impaired economic
performance
 The number of people suffering from stressrelated conditions caused or made worse by
work is likely to increase due to the changing
world of work which is making increased
demands on workers

Stress – facts and figures
Introduction
 “Work-related stress is experienced when
the demands of the work environment
exceed the workers’ ability to cope with (or
control) them”
 If the stress response continues over a
longer period, or if it is particularly intense,
this may have serious consequences on
health
Stress – facts and figures
Introduction
 Symptoms of work-related stress

Organisational:
o accidents, errors, increased costs from compensation or health
care, reduced productivity, absenteeism, high staff turnover,
harassment, poor time-keeping and disciplinary problems.
 Symptoms of work-related stress
Physiological: back problems, weakened immunity, peptic
ulcers, heart problems, hypertension.
o Cognitive: difficulty in concentrating, remembering, learning
new things, making decisions
o Emotional: irritability, anxiety, sleep problems, depression,
hypochondria, alienation, burnout, relationship problems
o Behavioural: abuse of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco
o
Stress – facts and figures
Prevalence
Work affects health (% yes)*
In 2005, the level of
reported stress was
lower in EU15 than in
EU10 or in two
Acceding Countries
(Bulgaria and
Romania)
40
30.4 30.9
30
20
20.2
EU-15
NMS-10
AC-2
15.9
10.3
10
0
11.5 11
11.9
7.6
stress
irritability
sleeping
problems
7.9 7.2
8.9
anxiety
*European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Fourth European
Working Conditions Survey, 2005.
Stress – facts and figures
Prevalence
The level of reported stress in EU countries*
60
The highest levels of
stress were reported in
Greece (55%), and in
Slovenia (38%),
Sweden (38%), and
Latvia (37%), whereas
the lowest levels were
registered in United
Kingdom (12%),
Germany, Ireland, and
the Netherlands (16%)
as well as in the Czech
Republic (17%), France
55
50
40
38
37
33
32
30
27
20
35
31
27
26
28
22
21
18
16
28
25
21
17
35
31
27
21
38
18
16
16
12
10
and Bulgaria (18%).
*European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Fourth European
Working Conditions Survey, 2005.
EU27
NL
BG
RO
UK
FI
SV
SK
SI
PT
PL
AT
MT
HU
LT
LU
LV
IT
CY
IE
ES
FR
EL
EE
DE
DK
BE
CZ
0
Stress – facts and figures
Prevalence
The level of reported physical violence and harassment
(bullying) at work in EU-27 (% yes)*
8
6
6
5.1
4.3
4
1.8
2
0
threats of
physic al
violenc e
physic al
physic al
harassment
violenc e from violenc e from (bullying)
c olleagues other people
1.8
unwanted
sexual
attention
*European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Fourth European
Working Conditions Survey, 2005.
Stress – facts and figures
Prevalence
Change in tempo of work during last 12 months
(2002) *
Tempo at one’s workplace
has:
Finland
%
Lithuania
%
Latvia
%
Estonia
%
considerably increased
18
11
13
11
somewhat increased
30
34
31
31
remained the same
48
43
47
48
somewhat decreased
3
8
6
5
considerably decreased
0
1
1
1
do not know
1
3
2
4
N=1297
N=909
N=904
N=900
Number of respondents
*The Working Life Barometer in the Baltic Countries , 2002.
Stress – facts and figures
Prevalence
 Health problems among workers reporting job
insecurity (Spain, 2007)*
40
Health problems
such as e.g.
tiredness or
headaches are
significantly
more frequent
among people
who feel job
insecurity
I may lose job during 6 m.- agree
35
I may lose job during 6 m - disagree
30
25
Stress prevalence
18.6
20
16.8
16
15
11.8
13
11.6
9.7
10
11.9
8.3
6.3
7.6
3.7
5
0
Difficulties in
falling asleep
or sleeping
badly
Feeling of
constant
tiredness
Headaches
*VI Encuesta Nacional de Condiciones de Trabajo, 2007
Sickness
Difficulties in Difficulties in
concentrating remembering
and
and forgetting
maintaining things easily
attention
Stress – facts and figures
Prevalence
The Netherlands: the most prevalent cause of becoming
work disabled is psychological or mental disorder*
*The Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by age
 European workers (%) reporting stress, overall
fatigue, sleeping problems, anxiety, and irritability by
age (2005)*
-24
The highest
stress level is
observed
among middle
aged workers,
and the lowest
among older
and younger
workers.
25-39
40-54
55+
%
30
24.3
23.2
22
19.1
17.9
20
23.4
14.3
13.1
8.2
10
9.9
7.9
7.7
3.5
11
9.4
7.1
12.1
8.5
5.5
3
0
stress
overall fatigue
sleeping problems
anxiety
irritability
*European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Fourth European
Working Conditions Survey, 2005.
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by age
Among the
workers who
consulted a
doctor because
of stress, the
majority
belonged to the
35-44 and 2534 age groups.
Percentage
 Percentage of workers who consult a doctor because
of stress at work by age (Spain, 2003)*
45.00
40.00
35.00
30.00
25.00
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
18-24
25-34
*V Encuesta Nacional de Condiciones de Trabajo, 2003
35-44
45-54
55-64
≥65
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by gender
 European workers (%) reporting stress, overall
fatigue, sleeping problems, anxiety, and irritability by
gender (2005)*
Men reported
work-related
stress more
frequently than
women (23%
and 20%
respectively),
however this
difference is not
very big
male
female
%
30
23
22.9
20.3
20
19.1
11.2
8.5
10
8
7.7 7.9
9.6
0
stress
overall fatigue
sleeping
problems
anxiety
irritability
*European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Fourth European
Working Conditions Survey, 2005.
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by gender
 Perceived increase of mental stress at work
(considerable or somewhat) by gender (2002)*
34
Finland
Women
reported higher
increase of
mental stress at
work (during
last 12 months)
43
44
Lithuania
52
men
w omen
34
Estonia
42
36
Latvia
%
42
0
10
20
*The Working Life Barometer in the Baltic Countries , 2002.
30
40
50
60
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by gender
 Workers reporting work stress by gender (Belgium,
2004)*
Women have
problems with
stress at work
slightly more
often than men.
The percentages
of men and
women for whom
stress at work is
an acute problem
do not differ
significantly
80
72.4
69.8
70
60
50
% 40
30
Non-problematic
30.2
26.7
Acutely problematic
10
20
10.6
10
0
*Flemish Workability Monitor, 2004
Male
Problematic
Female
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by gender
 Physical violence, bullying/harassment and unwanted
sexual attention by gender (2005), EU-25?*
Prevalence of
reported physical
violence is similar
among women and
men.
Women, especially
young women, are
more at risk of
harassment/bullying
and unwanted
sexual attention
than men.
Men
Women
%
8
6
6.3
6.2
6
4.7
4.1
4.3
4
3
1.7
2
2.1
0.8
0
T hreat of physical
violence
Physical violence
from colleagues
Physical violence Bullying/harassment
from other people
Unwanted sexual
attention
*European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Fourth European
Working Conditions Survey, 2005.
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by sector
 Prevalence of stress, anxiety and irritability
by sector (2005), EU-27?*
In 2005 stress
was the most
prevalent in the
education and
health sectors, as
well as in
agriculture,
hunting, foresty &
fishing (28.5%).
Education and health
Public administration and defence
Real estate
Financial intermediation
Transport and communication
Stress
Hotels and restaurants
Anxiety
Irritability
Wholesale and retail trade
Construction
Electricity, gas and water supply
Manufacture and mining
Agriculture
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
*European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Fourth European
Working Conditions Survey, 2005.
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by sector
Ranking of stress indicators in educational sector
according to teacher unions (2007)*
Ranking of stress indicators
Average
score
1. Burnout / depression / emotional exhaustion
3.62
2. High absenteeism / sickness
2.60
3. Sleeping problems / insomnia
2.51
4. Cardiovascular diseases / symptoms
2.50
5. Frequent interpersonal conflicts
2.42
6. Migraines
2.39
7. Hypertension / high blood pressure
2.34
8. Gastrointestinal disorders
2.08
9. High staff turnover
1.67
10. Addictions (drinking, smoking, drugs)
1.48
*European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), 2007.
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by sector
Physical violence by sector, EU-27?*
Threat of phy sical v iolence
Education and
health and public
administration
and defence are
the sectors most
affected by
physical violence
Phy sical v iolence from other people
5
Education and health
8.4
3.5
Public admnistration and defence
0.5
Real estate
1.7
1.7
Transport and communication
8.8
0.7
Whole sale and retail trade
7.2
Construction
Electricity , gas and water supply
1.1
1.3
1.2
1.4
1.8
0
7.4
4.5
1.9
1.9
Manufacture and mining
11.6
3.1
1.3
Hotels and restaurants
14.6
1.4
2.2
0
Financial intermediation
Phy sical v iolence from colleagues
9.8
9.3
5.4
3.8
4.5
10
*European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Fourth European
Working Conditions Survey, 2005.
20 %
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by sector
Bullying/harassment and unwanted sexual attention by
sector*
Bullying / harassment Unwanted sexual attention
Hotels and
restaurants,
education and
health and
transport and
communication
sectors most
affected by
bullying
/harassment
2.7
Education and health
Public admnistration and defence
1.3
Real estate
1.3
5.3
3.1
1.9
Financial intermediation
7.8
2.4
2.6
Transport and communication
6.9
3.9
Hotels and restaurants
1.8
Whole sale and retail trade
0.8
Construction
6.1
2.9
0.5
Electricity, gas and water supply
5.9
1.4
Manufacture and mining
8.6
4.1
0
*European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Fourth European
Working Conditions Survey, 2005.
10 %
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by occupation
 Prevalence of work-related stress in different
occupations (Poland, 1997- 2000)*
"Stress refers to a situation in which a person feels tense, restless, nervous, or
anxious, or is unable to sleep at night because the mind is troubled all the time. Do
you feel that kind of stress these days?"
Teachers, middle
medical staff,
government and
local government
administration
clerks, and bank
workers reported
highest level of
stress
Bank workers
29.6
Middle medical staff
30.6
18.1
Construction workers
Salesmen
24.8
Government and local government administration clerks
30.2
21.2
IT specialists
Public transport drivers
22.9
Teachers
34
26.6
All occupations
0
10
*Central Institute for Labour Protection – National Research Institute, 2000
20
30
40%
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by occupation
 Percent of workers reporting work-related
stress by occupation (Belgium, 2004)*
Senior
management/directors
Senior managers
/ directors and
middle managers
/professionals
reported highest
level of stress
Middlemanagers/professionals
Educational or care
functions
Problematic
Acutely problematic
Non-management w hitecollar w orkers
Skilled blue-collar
w orkers and technicians
Unskilled/experienced
blue-collar w orkers
%
0
*Flemish Workability Monitor, 2004
10
20
30
40
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by sector
 Occupational diseases by sector (the Netherlands,
2005)*
Financial
institutions
Psychological
diseases are the
most prevalent in
education,
financial
institution and
health care
Reparation and
trade
Transport
Psychological diseases
Musculoskeletal diseases
Education
Hearing diseases
Skin diseases
Construction
Health care
Manufacturing
industry
%
0
20
40
*The Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases, 2005
60
80
100
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by employment status
 European workers reporting stress and stress-related
health problems by employment status (self-employed
and employee) (2005), EU-27?*
Self-employed
Well-being
scores for selfemployed
workers are
lower than for
employed
workers
employee
%
30
27.3
24.9
21.3
20.2
20
17.3
14.3
9.4
10
8.1
9
11.210.4
7.6
3.3
1.8
0
stress
overall
fatigue
sleeping
problems
anxiety
irritability
headaches
heart
diseases
*European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Fourth European
Working Conditions Survey, 2005.
Stress – facts and figures
Stress by employment status
 Lack of control at work reported by workers on
permanent and temporary contracts (Spain, 2007)*
100
90
Workers on
temporary contracts
have lower control
over their work
compared to workers
on permanent
contracts
Permanent
Temporary
80
70
60
50
40
30
36.5
35.1
24.4
19.5
22.2
36.8
24.5
35.7
23.7
36.9
24.3
20
11.2
10
0
Terms of
holidays
Employing
ow n ideas
Order of
tasks
*VI Encuesta Nacional de Condiciones de Trabajo, 2007
Methods of
w ork
Rhythm of
w ork
Breaks
Stress – facts and figures
Costs of stress
 In 2002, the European Commission reported that the
yearly cost of work-related stress in the EU15 was
EUR 20.000 million each year
 France: the cost to society of occupational stress is
somewhere between EUR 830 and EUR 1.656 million,
the equivalent of between 10% and 20% of all
expenditure by the Occupational Accident and Disease
branch of the social security system
 The Netherlands: most of the costs to society of poor
working conditions come from work-related absence and
disability, which are mainly caused by
musculoskeletal disorders (43% of the all diagnoses)
and psychological diseases (40%).
 UK: In 2005/6 work related stress, depression and
anxiety cost Great Britain in excess of £530 million.
Stress – facts and figures
Emerging risks
 The main emerging psychosocial risks identified in the
forecasts*:
 New forms of employment contracts and job insecurity
(the use of more precarious contracts together with the
trend towards lean production and outsourcing)
 The OSH risks for the ageing workforce
 Work intensification - high workload and work pressure
 High emotional demands at work, violence and
harassment
 Poor work-life balance
 Combined exposure to psychosocial and physical risks
 All of these risks affect workers’ health and safety. They
may increase work-related stress and lead to serious
deterioration of mental and physical health.
*EU-OSHA – European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2005-2007
Stress – facts and figures
More information available at:
 Agency’s information on stress:
http://osha.europa.eu/en/topics/stress
 Publication: http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/TE-81-08-478-ENC_OSH_in_figures_stress_at_work/view
 European Risk Observatory: http://riskobservatory.osha.europa.eu
 European Agency for Safety and Health at Work:
http://osha.europa.eu/
Thank you for your attention!