Introduction

Abstract

The costs of stress and ill health to society are enormous. The recent report by Black (2008) commissioned by the UK government on the health of the working age population estimated the annual cost of sickness absence and worklessness associated with working-age ill health to be in excess of £100 billion. Stress-related conditions, such as anxiety and depression, are the second most common reason for absence from work in the UK (HSE 2006) and Europe, and the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that by 2020 five of the top ten medical problems worldwide will be stress-related. In addition, stress has been shown to be a predictor of work-related accidents and safety errors (Clarke 2008). In the wider population, one in four people experiences mental ill health problems each year and nearly a third of all diseases and disabilities are linked to people’s lifestyle behaviors.