One million workers suffer from burn out

Nearly one million Dutch people are suffering from burnouts caused by stress. Stress is the largest occupational hazard in the Netherlands, causing about 6 million days of absenteeism each year. Many people do not dare to show their employers that they are suffering from stress. Research done by the Ministry of Social Affairs show that 45 percent of employees fear that talking about their stress symptoms will give the impression that they can not handle their job. A quarter think that such a discussion will lead to a worse evaluation and 14 percent think it could cost them their jobs. 15 percent of executives think that corporate culture stands in the way of conversations about stress. Minister Asscher of Social Affairs believes that the taboo on work stress must be removed. "There is no shame if your work gets to be too much, it is a shame if your employer does not see it." he says. "People who drop out because they have a burnout or are overworked are often ill for a long time. They have to put in a lot of effort to come back. That is a huge waste of money." According to ArboNed, drop outs caused by stress was 8 times higher in the last five years. It has already cost 800 million euro in the first half of this year. A person who takes off sick with psychological symptoms, stays away from work an average of 180 days. That can easily cost 45 thousand euro.