Stress will be the biggest cause of workplace ill-health by 2020, according to World Health Organization research cited by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) today.
The HSA today announced "Work Positive - Prioritising Organisational Stress", a stress-risk-management tool aimed at combating the known causes of workplace stress.
It provides a step-by-step guide to assessing the risks of stress, outlining the aims of each step, to help managers eliminate these factors in their organisation.
Speaking today, Minister of State for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen said although "workplaces in the normal course can be stressful", when it begins to have a negative impact on the individual it can become a serious problem.
"There are risks in all workplaces and it is important that where stress on workers exists it is identified as such, assessed, and a strategy put in place to have it dealt with," he said.
The HSA said stress is associated with coronary artery conditions; a recent Scandinavian research has found a positive link between workplace stress and heart disease.
The HSA will operate this programme as a cross-Border initiative with the Health Service Executive Northern Ireland.