Stress is the No. 1 Cause of Work Place Sickness, Dubbed the "Black Death of the 21st Century"

Report: Stress, now called the "Black Death of the 21st Century, is the leading cause of work place illness, replacing cancer, stroke, heart attack and back problems.

REPORT: A report issued by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found stress has become the most common reason for an employee being absent from work for the long-term. Experts said the psychological condition had become so widespread that it was the ‘21st century equivalent of the Black Death,’ according to the Daily Mail. Stress has now surpassed stroke, heart attack, cancer and back problems.

Jill Miller, an adviser to the institute, says the report ‘highlights the heightened pressure many people feel under in the workplace as a result of the prolonged economic downturn’. Stress was found to be especially common at firms that have announced redundancies. Long-term absence is defined as taking four weeks or more off at one time because of sickness.

The most common causes of stress for workers are an excessive workload, the management style of a boss, restructuring in the workplace, and problems at home. The CIPD report shows that a typical worker has 7.7 days off each year due to sickness, typically from minor illnesses such as colds, flu, stomach upsets, headaches and migraines. But state workers, who make up one in five of the workforce, take two more sick days on average than private sector workers – 9.1 days compared with 7.1 days.

Read the entire article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2045309/Stress-Top-cause-workplace-sickness-dubbed-Black-Death-21st-century.html