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. According to a survey results published by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), many expect that it will be a major increase.

The results of a survey published by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) on the job-related stress issue, show that this is a concern for the large majority of the European workforce. In addition, 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, with as many as 52% expecting this to ‘increase a lot’. On the other hand, mos the managers think that stress is an issue in their companies, making stress at work as important as workplace accidents for companies. The European Commission published its latest evaluation of the agreement to ensure a minimum level of protection against stress at work in February 2011.

According to Dr Christa Sedlatschek, Director of EU-OSHA, the financial crisis and the changing world of work is making increased demands on workers. She also highlighted that there are interesting national variations in those who expect job-related stress to ‘increase a lot’, with Norwegians least worried (16%), for instance, and Greeks most worried about rising stress (83% ‘increase a lot’).

Furthermore, the large majority of Europeans agree that following good occupational safety and health practices is necessary for a country’s economic competitiveness, with 56% strongly agreeing. Views are similar among workers and those who do not work (86% and 85% agree respectively). According to EU-OSHA, work-related stress is one of the biggest health and safety challenges faced in Europe, representing a huge cost in terms of human distress and economic performance.