The Royal College of Physicians in Ireland is hosting a conference next month focusing on how the changing workforce and the changing nature of work is impacting on people's health.
Dr Martin Hogan, of the college's faculty of occupational medicine, says the main cause of absence from work for work-related illnesses has changed from physical ill health and injuries to psychological problems. "The whole work environment is getting more pressurised and we are certainly seeing the effects of that," he says.
While in general work is getting physically easier, the effect of removing one hazard can be to create another. For example, as workplaces rely more on high-tech equipment there is an expectation of greater productivity which can increase pressure on workers.
Hogan says changes in telecommunications with widespread use of mobile phones means it is "harder for people to get mini-breaks" during their working day. "There is now a more continuous demand on people," he says.
The changing workforce is also a factor. More immigrants mean there are language issues which did not exist before, and older workers and people who were not previously in the workforce also bring other issues, he says.
He stresses the importance of early intervention and of people seeking help quickly, saying they should go first to their GP. People should also make use of employee assistance programmes (EAPs) in workplaces that have them.
Knowing when a person's work can be a risk to their psychological health is difficult and it is complex question to legislate for. People's ability to cope varies and personal circumstances can also be a factor.
"It is easy to assess the risk of lifting a very heavy weight but it is very difficult to assess the risk to psychological health of dealing with 40 case files at any one time, or of working until 7pm every night or of not having an appropriate job description," he says.
He says the Health and Safety Authority has given employers tools to try to assess these and there are also a growing number of occupational physicians in the State. "We need to recognise that when you are dealing with human beings, you are also dealing with human frailties, you can aim for greater efficiencies but everyone has a breaking point," Hogan says.