Stress at the top of the list?

Business information group Gee has questioned over 300 organisations and found that stress has overtaken the common cold as the biggest cause of absence from work.

Twenty percent of companies with more than 1000 staff regard stress as a 'major problem'. One third of employers have introduced stress counselling because they are worried about its impact on business.

Gee's HR manager, Sally Harper, commented: "Growing evidence of the impact of stress on absence levels, coupled with recent legal awards against companies, seems to have made this problem too big to ignore."

This latest survey falls into line with findings published by the CBI, HSE and others. But some less sympathetic observers have suggested that stress has become a late `90s fashion statement. Is it a problem? What are the right ways to handle it? i-FM would be glad to hear your views.

Elliott Chase