Accounting for stress: a comparative analysis of corporate reporting on work-related stress by UK, German and Greek companies

Abstract

Work-related stress seems to be on the rise in recent years, and the contemporary prolonged financial uncertainty appears to have further contributed to it. However there seems to be a lack of studies investigating associated corporate disclosures. This paper attempts to contribute to this area by exploring the reporting on work-related stress, by some of the largest companies in the UK, Germany and Greece, through an investigation of their annual and ‘stand-alone’ reports and websites. Although it was expected that the inherent cultural differences among the investigated organisations would trigger some diversity in their stress-related reporting, a, by and large, complete absence of such reporting is found, with organisations from all countries limiting their references to, utmost, lip-service. The paper moves on to suggest potential reasons for this profound lack of relevant disclosure and highlights ways forward.