Stress in the workplace is costing billions - what are the consequences?

A European study has now quantified the economic consequences of stress in the workplace for the first time. The study undertaken by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) highlights the serious financial consequences that the EU faces from psychosocial work stress. Especially alarming: depression caused by stressful working conditions result in annual costs of over 100 billion euros, whereby employers have to bear more than 80 per cent of the financial burden arising from absenteeism.

Risk factors present in the workplace

The study identified five key psychosocial workplace risk factors that can all have a significant impact on employees’ mental and physical health. They include high workloads with little autonomy, excessive working hours that are longer than 55 hours per week, a lack of confidence in job security, an imbalance between workloads and rewards as well as workplace harassment. These factors underline the need for greater corporate and political action to protect employees and promote healthy working environments.

Total costs due to psychosocial risks

Belgium, France, Finland and the Netherlands are particularly affected - the costs of depression per 100,000 employees in these countries are exceptionally high and in some cases they exceed 16 million euros per 100,000 employees. The study also showed that employers bore the largest share of the economic burden by having to pay for work absences. Psychosocial stress not only results in sickness-related absences, but also in so-called ‘presenteeism’. Presenteeism is a condition in which employees turn up for work despite poor mental and physical health, but their performance is significantly reduced. According to the report, there was a significant increase in workplace accidents during 2015, which led to over 10,000 deaths and a loss of 400,000 years of life due to work-related illnesses.

Differences in psychosocial risks within the EU

Insecure employment relationships and high occupational stress are the greatest psychosocial risk factors that cause cardiovascular diseases. Within the EU, there are clear differences in the economic burden caused by cardiovascular diseases resulting from psychosocial work stress. Central and Eastern European countries bear higher costs, whereas Western countries are less affected especially with regard to work-related strokes. There are also significant gender-related differences. Women are more affected by sickness-related absences and presenteeism, whereas the suicide rate amongst men is significantly higher. On the contrary, long working hours play a lesser role here and this is probably due to the successful introduction of the European Working Time Directive

Outlook

The protection of social rights must not be pushed into the background during times when economic competitiveness and security are increasingly dominating the political agenda. The current study provides a new impetus for a more critical view of the working world and the role social policy plays in Europe. Preventing psychosocial risks must be given greater focus in order to avoid long-term damage to both employees and the economy.