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Company bosses need to identify stress in staff early and ensure they are tackling it before it becomes a more serious problem, an expert advises.

System Concepts, an ergonomics consultancy, says there is a trend of stress not being treated sympathetically, leading to people remaining silent about their problems.

Tom Stewart, joint managing director of the company, says: 'There is a tendency for the people who are really suffering to keep quiet and then you don't spot them until it's too late.'

He states management should be 'vigilant' to the signs of stress as it is more effective to spot it early on and 'nip it in the bud'.

Stewart also notes that if the situation gets worse and an employee is off work with stress it puts more strain on other workers, potentially leading to further incidents of illness.

The issue of stress is particularly important in the current economic climate, as a recent poll of 2,000 workers from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts found two-thirds of people feel insecure about their job.

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