Stress at work costs EU 20 billion euro

Date: 04/07/02

By Martin Banks

SOCIAL Affairs Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou and European Parliament President Pat Cox have thrown their weight behind a campaign aimed at combating work-related stress.

More than 25 of workers in the EU are said to suffer stress and the problem is believed to cost at least €20 billion a year in lost time and health provision.

A new campaign by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work aims to raise awareness of the problem.

Its 'Working on Stress' initiative has already won the backing of member states, with each pledging to highlight the scale of the problem through a range of activities. Employers and trade unions, as well as health and safety experts, are being urged to carry out risk assessment audits in workplaces across the Union.

Launching the initiative at the European Parliament on Tuesday, Diamantopoulou said: 'Work-related stress is a growing problem, with massive human and financial costs, but not one we have to accept. The Commission is convinced that work-related stress can and must be prevented - but we know the only way it can be tackled effectively is by working together.'

Cox said: 'The changing world of work, particularly the rise of job insecurity, has made work-related stress one of the biggest health and safety challenges facing today's business.

'The Parliament is fully committed to tackling this issue and welcomes the agency's determination to give it the profile it deserves.'

According to research, work-related stress affects around 40 million people in the EU - or nearly one in three workers. Women report the highest levels and one of the most common causes is lack of control at work.

Over one-third of employees, for instance, say they have no say in the order of their tasks and 55 claim no influence over how long they work.

Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, director the agency, said: 'Our campaign will not only enable us to achieve economies but, more crucially, allow us to draw on and disseminate examples of good practice for combating work-related stress.'

Cox and Diamantopoulou helped launch the campaign with what was described as the world's biggest stress ball - a five-metre-wide inflatable model - outside the Parliament.

Social Affairs Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou and European Parliament President Pat Cox are supporting a campaign by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work aimed at combating work-related stress. More than 25% of workers in the EU are said to suffer stress and the problem is believed to cost at least €20 billion a year in lost time and health provision.