Work-related stress claims hit record high in Denmark

Reports of work-related stress illnesses in Denmark have risen by 50 per cent since 2019, reaching their highest level on record, according to a new analysis by the Economic Council of the Labour Movement, reported by DR.

The analysis counts serious stress-related cases, the council’s chief analyst, Kristoffer Lind Glavind, told DR. It is difficult to measure stress, he said, because there are many forms of the condition and no single perfect way to assess it.

Doctors generally decide whether a stress illness should be reported as a work injury. The council expects the number of cases to be higher than its figures show because not all cases are reported. Fewer than five per cent of reported stress-related occupational illnesses are recognised as work injuries, Glavind said, citing the high burden of proof. He said this points to a problem in the system for recognising work injuries.

A 2024 analysis by the council estimated that work-related stress costs society 55 billion kroner a year. Glavind said nearly 100,000 people are out of the labour market because of stress, including 39,000 due to work-related stress. The number of stress-related occupational illnesses per employee is also at a record high, despite employment having grown during the period covered.

Women employees are affected three times as often as men, although the analysis says this may partly reflect that women are more likely to report work-related stress illnesses. Employees in major public-service professions are particularly affected. The analysis also points to differences between the sectors in which men and women work. Employees experiencing poor management are twice as likely to be on long-term sick leave.

The Danish Employers’ Confederation disputes what the figures show. Beate Fabricius Ingerslev, its head of policy for working environment and health, said the analysis records a rise in reports, not necessarily in the actual incidence of work-related stress. She also pointed to a finding by the country’s economic advisers last month that there was no evidence that severe stress reactions had become more widespread over the past 15 to 20 years.

Ingerslev said the lack of a common measure for stress makes the figures difficult to compare, and called for a tool that could help employers and employees agree on the numbers and track changes over time.

The council says better prevention could benefit both individuals and society. The government’s budget proposal includes 50 million kroner for a prevention fund due to be established in 2027. Pia Olsen Dyhr, the Minister for Economic Affairs and the Interior, said stress was a major social problem and that broader measures were needed.