As the labour force decreased in the early 1990s, productivity went up. Fewer people are producing more, often under conditions of uncertainty and insecurity. More people, in particular women, are experiencing time pressure and a frantic work pace. Time pressure, social conflicts, and mobbing have become more common in the workplace and have a direct effect the on the work environment.¹⁵

In 1997, for the first time, the prevalence of burnout in the Finnish working age population was studied in conjunction with macro-level developments in working life.¹⁶ Since there are no previous population-wide studies on burnout, it is not possible to evaluate overall trends or make comparisons. However, studies on more limited population samples show that burnout has been increasing since mid 1980.¹⁷ According to the 1997 study, burnout and stress are severe problems in the Finnish workplace; 7 % of the population suffer from severe burnout and almost 50 % report some burnout symptoms. The risk of burnout is about double in organisations that have reduced personnel and even higher in those where there is a perceived threat of dismissal. Rapid reorganisation and restructuring are significant factors contributing to the increased levels of stress and exhaustion.¹⁸

Chronic long-term stress may cause exhaustion and burnout and trigger more serious mental health problems, such as depression. A recent study shows that the majority (43%) of people diagnosed with severe depression had experienced a major work-related stressor during the previous year.¹⁹ Loss of a loved one and serious illness, traditionally thought to trigger depression, were less common. There are, however, no epidemiological data on the relation between depression and unemployment, work-related stress, and economic recession.²⁰

The most common stressors triggering depression (%)