Stress at work: Ignore at your peril

Work-related stress regularly tops the charts when the root causes of sickness absence are identified, and in the current economic slowdown, many employees are expected to work harder and longer for less. Tim Holden reveals the true cost of stress on your employees.

In the UK, over 13 million working days are lost every year because of stress. Stress is believed to trigger 70% of visits to doctors and 85% of serious illnesses (Health & Safety Executive stress statistics). The same organisation concluded that work-related stress affects men and women in equal numbers, and that people in the age group from 45 to retirement suffer more than younger people.