EU: nearly half of workers feel more stressed since Covid-19 pandemic (survey results)

More than four in 10 European Union (EU) workers (44%) say their stress at work has risen since the pandemic, according to an OSH Pulse survey of EU Member States plus Iceland and Norway, commissioned by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and carried out in the spring of 2022. Furthermore, 46% say they are exposed to high time pressure or work overload. This risk factor is mentioned by more than 50% of respondents from Cyprus, Slovenia, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Greece, and Iceland. The most affected employees are working in medium and large companies (50%). The reason reported for this is the use of digital technologies that determine the speed or rhythm of their work (for 52% of respondents) and increase their overall workloads (for 33% of respondents). Across the EU, general fatigue caused or aggravated by work is the most cited health problem (37%). This is particularly the case in Poland (62%), Lithuania (52%), and Spain and Latvia (51%). Next come headaches and eye strain (34%), bone, joint or muscle problems (30%), stress, depression and anxiety (27%) and finally infectious diseases, including Covid-19 (21%). In total, more than 27,000 employees were surveyed between April and May 2022 for this EU-wide study, that also includes Iceland and Norway.