AS MANY AS 12.8 million working days were lost because of stress, depression and anxiety in 2003-4, says the Health and Safety Executive. And, since each case of work-related stress means that an average of 28.5 working days is lost each time, the bill is huge. The cost of work-related stress to the country is between ￡3.7 and ￡3.8 billion each year, at 1995-96 prices, says the HSE. Around half a million people in Britain now say they have work-related stress that makes them ill, according to HSE-commissioned research; and up to 5 million are "very" or "extremely" stressed by work. And, since the HSE launched new measures to tackle work-related stress in November, the pressure is on employers to reduce stress levels among employees, "At a time when many employees' stress levels are rising, most employers are doing very little to combat the UK's growing stress epidemic," says TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.
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