[Workplace-related anxiety, workplace phobia and disorders of participation]

Abstract

Work is an important domain of life. It is therefore clear that problems at the workplace and mental disorders will have negative interactions. Job-related anxieties are of special importance as any workplace causes or intensifies anxiety by its very nature. A common final pathway of mental disorders in general and workplace-related anxieties in particular is workplace phobia. Similarly to agoraphobia, it is characterised by panic when approaching or even thinking of the stimulus, in this case the workplace. Workplace phobia has serious negative consequences for the further course of illness. It impairs the ability to work, and can lead to sick leave and early retirement. It requires special therapeutic interventions. This paper describes workplace-related anxieties and workplace phobia and gives a conceptual framework for their understanding.