The European Foundation’s 1996 Working
Conditions in the European Union revealed
that 29% of the workers questioned believed
that their work affected their health.
The work-related health problems mentioned
most frequently are musculoskeletal
complaints (30%) and stress (28%).
23% of respondents said they had been
absent from work for work-related health
reasons during the previous 12 months.
The average number of days’ absence per
worker was 4 days per year, which represents
around 600 million working days lost
per year across the EU.