Work-related stress
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Annex: Main national surveys/studies on work-related stress
| Country | Name of survey/study | Methodology/main features | Other comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| AT | Austrian Labour Force Survey | Information on employment relationships, working time, job search and training. The 2007 survey included a module that had questions on psychosocial risk factors and outcomes. | |
| Austrian Working Climate Survey (Arbeitsklimaindex) | Based on a representative sample of 900–1,000 respondents, collected four times a year. | Focused on job satisfaction – 26 thematic indicators are collected and combined into four sub-indices, of which work is one. | |
| Austrian Working Health Monitor (Arbeitsgesundheitsmonitor) | Data collection on a quarterly basis, with approximately 1,000 respondents for each survey. | Focus on the subjective health perception of workers. | |
| BE | STV Innovation and Work (STV Innovatie en Arbeid) | Scientifically validated indicator on workability. Written questionnaire sent to 20,000 individuals, with response rates of 60.6% in 2004 and 53.3% in 2007. | The first survey was conducted in 2004 and subsequent surveys in 2007 and 2010. |
| Belstress | Large epidemiological cohort study on stress at work and related health problems, running from 1996 to 2006. The first phase covered 21,419 respondents in 25 organisations across Belgium with data gathered through self-administered questionnaires and bio-clinical examinations. The second phase covered nine of the original 25 organisations. The third phase covered seven companies. | The third phase of the study focuses more narrowly on the risk factors of sickness absence, the causes of sickness absence and cause-specific sickness absence. | |
| DIOVA database | This database collects data from organisations all over Belgium and has been operating since 1999. It consists of a non-representative national database of 32,016 employees | ||
| BG | Survey on work stress in the context of transition. A case study of three public sector organisations in Bulgaria. | This was carried out in 2002 by the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research at the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) and based on a random clustered sample of 1,026 respondents in 45 cities. Data were gathered by means of interview. | There are no national surveys on stress in Bulgaria, but a range of sectoral and occupational surveys have been carried out in recent years. |
| Survey on employee turnover, working conditions and motivation of civil servants, carried out by the Ministry of State Administration in 2008. | Data were collected from a representative random sample of 4,000 civil servants, using face-to-face interviews. | ||
| Empirical psychological survey of judges in Bulgaria (‘Stress and coping with stress’) | Conducted in 2008 by the Union of Psychologists. Data collected using face-to-face structured interviews from 474 individuals, representing 8.65% of all judges in Bulgaria. | ||
| General Labour Inspectorate survey on stress (2003) | This was a questionnaire-based survey of 196 employees in professions deemed to be at high risk of stress such as nurses, doctors, bus drivers, bar workers and social workers. | ||
| CY | Kyriacou and Constanti (2008): ‘Investigating job stress: Comparing the influence of hardiness to other stress factors’, focusing on call centre operators. | This study collected data from 64 individuals, based on a paper questionnaire, focusing on the personality of the individual, working conditions and workplace environmental conditions. | A range of occupation- and sector-specific surveys on stress have been carried out. A selection is presented here. |
| Fani and Markidou, Stress experienced by nurses in intensive care units and ways of dealing with it, Lefkosia, Cyprus School of Nursing, 2006. | Data were collected via a written questionnaire, completed by 430 nurses across the country. Qualitative data were also collected via semi-structured interviews with 20 nurses. | ||
| Constantinos, K.M., ‘Job stressors, personality and burnout in primary school teachers’, British Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 77, 2005, pp. 229–243. | Data were collected from 447 primary school teachers via a questionnaire. The focus was on the association between burnout, personality characteristics and job stressors in primary school teachers in Cyprus. | ||
| CZ | ‘Workplace stress – prevention opportunities 2008–2009’, Department of Human Resource Development of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, Trade Union of Public Authorities and Organisations, Occupational Safety Research Institute | This survey gathered data from 150 public administration employees. The project team also carried out a representative survey on stress among 836 employees aged 18–65, and carried out semi-structured interviews with labour inspectors. | There is no regular monitoring of stress at work in the Czech Republic. There are, however, a range of surveys that deal with, or have information on, stress. The survey with the greatest focus on stress is listed here. |
| DE | Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) produces an annual national report on the development of health and safety at work in Germany. The 2005 report focuses, among other things, on work-related stress. | Other surveys are carried out by health insurance organisations. | |
| Study published by BMAS in February 2008, Organisational culture, quality of work and employee commitment in companies in Germany | A total of 68,151 employees in 314 companies were asked to complete a standardised questionnaire as part of an employee survey. A total of 37,151 complied, a response rate of 58%. In addition, a senior executive or a department manager in each of the same companies was interviewed to provide a management survey (DE0804019I). | ||
| DK | National Health and Morbidity Surveys (SUSY) conducted by the National Institute of Public Health (SIF) | Sample size was 14,566 in 2005. Stress measured by a single question: ‘Do you feel stressed in your everyday life?’ | National survey |
| 2005 survey of psychosocial health in specific jobs based on the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) undertaken by the National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NFA). | Sample size was 3,517 in 2005. Stress measured by four-item scales for behavioural somatic and cognitive stress. | National survey | |
| EE | Study on work-related stress carried out in January 2010 by the Centre for Applied Research (CentAR) and the research company Turu-uuringute AS on the distribution of psychosocial risks among salaried workers in Estonia (Psühhosotsiaalsete riskide levik Eestis). The study was commissioned by the Labour Inspectorate (Tööinspektsioon). | Face-to-face interviews based on two international work-related stress questionnaires that were adapted for the study – the UK HSE management standards indicator tool and the Copenhagen psychosocial questionnaire (COPSOQ II). The sample was 1,200 respondents aged 15–74. | Not many national surveys on stress exist, although there are some occupational surveys for groups such as teachers. |
| EL | A survey carried out by the National Statistical Service of Greece (ESYE), ‘Special survey on workplace accidents and work-related health problems’, looks among other things at stress. | The survey was conducted during the second quarter of 2007 based on a questionnaire method to which 49,299 people aged 15 and older responded. | |
| ‘Working conditions in Greece’ by the company V-Project Research Consulting (VPRC). This is a quantitative survey commissioned by the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE). | This survey was conducted between 14 June and 10 July 2008. Individual face-to-face interviews were carried out, using a structured questionnaire, based on a sample of 1,300 employed and unemployed people aged over 18. | ||
| ES | Survey on Quality of Life in the Workplace (Encuesta de Calidad de Vida en el Trabajo), aimed to assess the situation of workers in the workplace by providing data on the activities they carry out and their relations at work, along with workers’ own perceptions. | Interviewees are asked to measure their level of stress linked to their current working place from 0 (no stress) to 10 (extreme stress). | This survey has been carried out on an annual basis by the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Immigration since 1999 (except in 2005). The most recent issue available corresponds to 2008. |
| FI | Quality of Work Life Survey (FQWLS) | Data collected by personal face-to-face interviews using a standardised questionnaire. Between 3,000 and 6,500 people have been interviewed in each survey round (since 1977). | Survey looks at time pressure and the effects of this, rather than examining stress directly. |
| 2006 Work and Health Surveys carried out by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. | Telephone interviews with around 3,000 respondents. | Study carried out every three years since 1997. | |
| FR | No surveys in place, although the Minister of Labour has appointed an expert group to monitor psychosocial risks at work, which presented an interim report on provisional indicators to assess psychosocial risk factors at the workplace in October 2009. | ||
| HU | Survey carried out by GfK Hungária in April 2008 | The survey covered 1,000 employees in April 2008. Respondents were asked to assess statements using a 1–5 scale (1: fully disagree, 2: agree in a very small degree, 3: moderately agree, 4: more or less agree, 5: fully agree; 0: no opinion). | |
| Hungarostudy 2006 survey | Questionnaire-based survey which focused on time pressure, interruption, distraction and increase of effort during work. Questions relate to the rewards of work, promotion possibilities, workplace security and unfavourable changes at the workplace. Respondents are asked to assess statements using a 1–5 scale. Should the value of the index be 1 or more, it indicates high workplace stress. | ||
| IE | A national survey (‘The changing workplace: a survey of employees’ views and experiences’) of over 5,000 employees’ work experiences was published in 2003 by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and the National Centre for Partnership and Performance (NCPP). The survey contains data on employees’ experience of workplace stress. | The fieldwork for the survey was carried out between June and early September 2003 using a telephone methodology. Overall 5,198 responses were obtained. The sample was selected on a random basis from a total of 300 sampling points throughout Ireland. | |
| IT | The 2005 publication, Il lavoro che cambia [Changing work], edited by Carrieri, Damiano and Ugolini, summarises the results of a survey launched in 2002 by Democratici di Sinistra (DS), the main centre-left Italian political party. | More than 22,000 completed questionnaires were collected through various channels: most from workplaces, while more than 3,000 were filled in online. The survey design did not follow a formal survey sampling methodology: the centre-north of Italy, employees, the public sector and manufacturing are over-represented, corresponding to the constituency of DS. A section of the questionnaire was devoted to quality of work issues such as job satisfaction, pay and job security, while wider scope was given to labour market and political issues. | According to this survey, stress is the most reported risk factor, mentioned by 45.7% of respondents: it decreases as responsibilities decrease, from 60% among managers to 27.3% among blue-collar workers) |
| LT | The Occupational Medicine Centre of the Institute of Hygiene (HIDMC) has been carrying out surveys and research programmes aimed at analysing work-related stress and the effects of work-related stress on occupational health since 1994. | Surveys include: - work-related stress and the functional state of the cardiovascular system (1994–1997); - ability for work and psychosocial stressors at work (1998–1999); - identification of psychosocial stressors at work causing more frequent stress reactions among (trolleybus and bus) drivers (2000–2001); - effects of psychosocial factors at work on the development of depression and depressive symptoms (2002–2004); - incidence, forms of manifestation and risk factors of psychological violence in the workplace (2008–2010). | There is no regular work-related stress monitoring in place in Lithuania. |
| Working Life Barometer | Face-to-face structured interviews. Sample of 904 individuals aged between 16 and 64. | Study looks at overtime working, stress factors and conflict. | |
| LU | Survey of work-related stress carried out in 2006 by the organisation, Stimulus, at the request of the trade union confederation, OGBL, and the Luxembourg League for Mental Hygiene. | Sample of 1,230 Luxembourg residents and Belgian and French cross-border commuters. Data collected by telephone questionnaire. | |
| MT | In 2007, the National Statistics Office (NSO) conducted an ad hoc Labour Force Survey (LFS) on accidents at work and work-related health problems which among other things, touched upon the issue of work-related stress. | The Labour Force Survey is based on interviews with households on a continuous basis. | |
| NL | Netherlands Working Conditions Survey (NEA) | This is the largest periodic survey on working conditions in the Netherlands. Six surveys have been performed thus far in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. The surveys involve around 24,000 employees per year (except the 2003 survey, which involved around 10,000). Respondents receive a written questionnaire, but can also complete the questionnaire online. | The way of measuring a number of work-related stress factors was changed in 2007. |
| Employers Working Conditions Survey (WEA) | This is a national survey among a sample of at least 5,000 employers held every other year and which concentrates on working conditions and employment related issues regarding policies as well as ‘ad hoc’ activities regarding working conditions and working relations. | The WEA was held in 2008 for the first time. The questionnaire is completed by the director/owner or the human resources manager of the company interviewed. | |
| Working Companies (Werk in Bedrijf) survey | This survey is held annually by the Dutch Labour Inspectorate. Every year labour inspectors investigate a national sample of more than 2,000 Dutch employers with a standard questionnaire on working conditions and the way they manage these. They also visit the shopfloor and ask for relevant reports. | Every year a specific set of working conditions is questioned in detail; in 2007 these were work stress related factors. | |
| NO | The Level of Living Survey: Working Conditions (Samordnet levekårsundersøkelse: Arbeidsmiljø) is conducted by Statistics Norway (SSB) every third year. | Based on telephone interviews with almost 10,000 workers, representing a response rate in 2006 of 67%. | Questions measure subjective evaluation of control and demands of work, as well as any adverse physical, psychological or social complaints possibly related to lack of balance between demands and resources. |
| PL | The Central Institute of Labour Protection (CIOP) produces a Social Diagnosis (Diagnoza Społeczna) survey, a cyclical survey conducted at national level (in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009) and which concerns living conditions and the quality of life of Polish citizens. It contains seven questions diagnosing aspects of work-related stress. | In 2009, 12,381 households were surveyed. It is a questionnaire-based survey of households, conducted by face-to-face interviewers. | There is no national instrument to monitor work-related stress. Various sectoral studies exist. |
| The Central Statistical Office (GUS) conducts a national level survey, Accidents at work and work-related health problems (available in English and Polish). The most recent data relate to 2007 and examine health problems connected with work, workload, time pressure, mobbing and violence at work. | The survey was conducted in households on a representative sample of 31,338,000 people aged 15 and older. | ||
| PT | Evaluation Survey of the Working Conditions of Workers, December 1999 – January 2000 (Inquérito de Avaliação das Condições de Trabalho dos Trabalhadores, Dezembro 1999 – Janeiro 2000) conducted by the Department of Statistics of Labour, Employment and Professional Training of the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity (Departamento de Estatística do Trabalho, Emprego e Formação Profissional do Ministério do Trabalho e da Solidariedade Social). | National representative sample of about 5,000 persons in different sectors of activity. | Other sectoral and occupational studies also exist in Portugal. |
| RO | The ‘Living Conditions Survey’ (ACOVI) is conducted annually by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) and included, until 2006, a section devoted to and titled ‘working conditions’. | Sample of 10,920 households all over the country. The data are collected by face-to-face interviews at the respondents’ homes, in mid-June. The questions regarding work cover the week prior to the interview, and the questions related to health cover the previous six months. | The working conditions chapter of this survey was discontinued in 2007. |
| INS conducted an inquiry into ‘Health and Safety at the Workplace’ (RO0804019I), as a complementary module to the ‘Household Labour Force Survey’ (AMIGO) in the second quarter of 2007. | The survey collected data on health issues related to occupational activities and to the risk factors to which the respondents are exposed at their current workplace, and which may affect their mental and physical health. | ||
| SE | The Swedish Work Environment Survey (SWES) has been carried out by Statistics Sweden (SCB) every other year since 1989. | SWES was conducted using a set of supplementary questions in connection with SCB’s regular Labour Force Survey (AKU). The sample size was 12,500, of whom slightly more than 10,500 answered the telephone interview and slightly less than 8,000 answered the questionnaire. | The 2007 survey was commissioned by the Swedish Work Environment Authority (AV) and aims to describe the work environment of the population in employment aged between 16 and 64. |
| SLOSH (Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health) is a longitudinal cohort study which follows up on SWES 2003. | This study has additional questions compared with SWES, and also has the advantage that it studies the same participants over a longer period of time. The survey was commissioned by the Stress Research Institute (Stressforskningsinstitutet) and was carried out by SCB from March to May 2006. | The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between work organisations, work environment and health. | |
| SI | In 2008, the Clinical Institute of Clinical Occupational, Traffic and Sports Medicine (KIMDPŠ) carried out a survey on the extent of mobbing in Slovenia. | Survey questionnaire was responded to by 1,366 individuals. The questions referred mostly to the six months preceding the survey and the interviews were carried out in the respondents’ homes. | |
| SK | No specialised stress surveys available. | ||
| UK | The UK’s Labour Force Survey (LFS) collects some data on the incidence of work-related stress in the UK in its workplace accident and self-reported illness modules (HSE, 2009). | The data in these modules are based on self-reported data. | The survey notes that while this method does not give an exact measurement of the true extent of work-related illness, it is held to be a reasonable indicator. |
| Annual Psychosocial Working Conditions (PWC) Survey, produced by HSE | This survey is based on a series of questions sponsored by HSE in two ONS omnibus surveys. The omnibus surveys are based on a random probability sample, using face-to-face interviews. | Survey has been running since 2004. |
Source: EWCO
EF/10/75/EN
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Page last updated: 19 November, 2010