APPROXIMATELY half a million people in the UK experience work-related stress at a level they believe is making them ill.

Up to five million people in the UK feel "very" or "extremely" stressed by their work and a total of 12.8 million working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety over the past year, according to research by the Health and Safety Executive.

Sarah Candlish, a project co-ordinator for European Alliance Against Depression based in Gravesend, feels pressure may be higher in women because they are still expected to be the primary home makers as well as maintaining jobs to support a family.

She said: "There is some evidence showing inadequate support for working mothers may contribute to suppression of the immune system and disease vulnerability, which could be evidence of somatic symptoms of low mood.

"There is an increase of cardiac problems in women because of stress at work although it is not clear if this is a result having to combine the roles of work and home.

"A study in Finland which sent out a questionnaire to municipal workers found 25 per cent of women in the workforce reported weight gain. This was attributed to a combination of having paid work and the responsibility of family life."