Popular perceptions of a stress epidemic amongst UK workers are
probably accurate, based on the sheer ubiquity of stress-related
ill-health. Furthermore, levels of stress amongst UK workers peaked
in the late 1990s and early 2000s and have stabilised since, even if
at a high level. The particular industrial sectors, occupations and
demographic variables give rise to an uneven distribution of workrelated
stress within the population as a whole.