The Health and Safety Commission figures issued on 10 December stated in
total, an estimated 40.2 million working days were lost due to work-related
illness and injury - 32.9 million due to illness and 7.3 million due to
injury. Of days lost due to illness, 13.4 million were attributed to stress,
anxiety or depression.

An estimated total of 563,000 people were affected by stress and over the 12 months, there were an estimated 265,000 new cases of stress.

HSC Chair Bill Callaghan said, “Stress seems to be endemic in modern society,
both inside and outside the workplace - and the rate of increase in recent
years has been considerable. Many people talk about `stress-management`. The
key to reversing the upward trend is to avoid stress in the first place. The
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has already provided guidance to employers
and we have a number of initiatives in place to get to grips with the
problem”.

In light of the recent stress at work figures issued by HSE, it does most certainly seem that stress levels have reached epidemic proportions. Of course, stress management is one of the major subjects for consultations with spa professionals and is always high on the agenda for many spa visitors.

Daily damage limitation seems to be one way forward, and those with hectic lifestyles may well benefit from some down-time during office hoursHela, the stress management specialists, which install relaxation zones within corporations, believes long-term stress levels can be dealt on a daily basis. Whilst Hela, does not claim to solve the stress problem, it does promote a positive approach by installing, cost-effective relaxation zones into companies and workplaces.

The UK launch of Hela Zone at the CIPD Conference and Exhibition was an overwhelming success, and the company is now currently running a free trial promotion, offering business the opportunity to experience the benefits of a Hela Zone in the office environment. Hela will deliver and install the Hela Zone to offices and leave it for two weeks, free of charge.

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