Stress is not a new word in our vocabulary, but the amount of times that it is heard or written must have increased exponentially over the past years. Almost no day passes without anyone passing a comment about how stressed he or she is, and how difficult it has become to cope with life.

It is not only a matter of time, although time constraints and having to juggle between work, family and social life is already enough to make anyone feel stressed. Ironically, although today we have faster planes and cars, can communicate with the other side of the world without leaving the office and, generally speaking, technology has improved our way of life, stress is killing us.

Go into Facebook or any other social pages on the internet and you will certainly find someone who is complaining about the big stress he or she is facing. It has become a way of life – and often the first answer to an “are you ok?” question is “not really, I’m stressed.” Some might be exaggerating, or finding an answer everybody will accept, but then many are really suffering from, we dare say, the malady of the 21st century.

Our ancestors may have taken days, instead of hours, to move from one place to another; they had to wait ages before the postman delivered the letter they were expecting, and did not have so many gadgets with which to while away the time – and yet they must have lived a more tranquil life, free from the hassle of dealing with so many things at the same time.

Last week, it was revealed that in 10 years’ time, it is estimated that depression, which in many cases is caused by stress, will be the second largest cause of days of productivity lost at work. In other words, the stress that we are building up, and which is expected to have bigger effects in the future, will also be affecting our economy.

While great importance has been given and must continue to be given on health and safety matters at work – such as the wearing of harnesses, protective clothing and helmets – the same level of attention must be given to mental illnesses which will also have their effect. Just as much as workers need to be protected from physical injuries, they must also be safeguarded against mental injuries.

Some facts are quite worrying – in 2005, one fifth of European workers suffered some form of work-related stress; in Malta, there was a 12 per cent increase in work-related stress; each year, per capita, over e500 is spent on stress-related sickness. And the numbers are going up.

Of course, it is now easy to attribute stress to any mental condition that cannot otherwise be explained, and in this respect doctors should exercise great caution in writing out certificates. Irresponsible workers who want to skip a few days of work find it easier to convince their doctor they have work-related stress – because this cannot really be ascertained. And therefore, while workers should refrain from abusing the system, doctors should not become accomplices in the abuse.

But the serious cases should be dealt with seriously, as stress – not only at work – could lead to further repercussions. While employers should not increase their expectancies and add on the workload without considering all the factors, employees should not take advantage of the situation and doctors should not consent to signing their certificate unless their clients are really affected by work-related stress.