One-quarter of workers in Europe say they’re stressed on the job: study

Brussels – One in four European workers feels stressed all or most of the time while on the job, according to a report from Europe’s leading agencies on worker safety and health.

Researchers found that fewer employees said they worked long hours than had been noted in previous research, but more were worried about keeping their jobs. Meanwhile, 80 percent of managers said they were concerned about work-related stress, and almost 1 out of 5 considered violence and harassment significant concerns.

Researchers included anecdotes from companies that had adopted comprehensive approaches toward managing and reducing workplace stress. In one example, a Dutch hospital combated high rates of absenteeism by rotating job tasks, training managers to be more supportive and providing employees with courses on stress management, among other measures.

The report was published by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (also known as EU-OSHA) and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.