Report: Women at higher risk of work-related stress

Women are at a higher risk than men of developing work-related stress, anxiety and depression, it has emerged.

A report published today by the Economic and Social Research Institute also found that the illness risk is greatest for those working in the education sector, followed by those in health.

Researchers used data from the Quarterly National Household Survey for 2002-2013, published by the Central Statistics Office.

It emerged that the rate of work-related stress, anxiety and depression among women was almost six per 1,000, compared to the rate for men at four per 1,000.

Workers in the agriculture, construction and industry sectors have the lowest risk of stress, anxiety and depression with the rate at less than three per 1,000 workers.

Researchers also looked at work-related musculoskeletal disorders and found no gender difference. However, workers aged 35 to 64 had the highest risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

The older age group are two-and-a-half more times more likely to develop such illnesses than workers under 25 years old.

In 2013, an estimated 55,000 people suffered from a work-related illness, resulting in the loss of 790,000 work days.

ESRI associate research professor Helen Russell said the study showed that targeted measures to address work-related illnesses were needed. “As the rate of work-related illnesses increased during the boom years, it is especially important to consider implementing such measures as the economic recovery accelerates,” she said.