Work phobia an anxiety disorder, not laziness

Shirkers have been given the perfect excuse as scientists declared workplace phobia a real illness requiring careful treatment.

A fear of the workplace, the people in it and problems that arise there are not simply a figment of the neurotic mind, they said, it is a separate condition that doctors must be aware of.

Researchers said work-related phobia is an anxiety disorder but because it can occur in people who do not suffer from general anxiety disorders it is different.

Prof Michael Linden, a clinical psychologist in Berlin who led the research said "Like other forms of anxiety, job-anxieties can present in the form of panic, hypochondriac fears, work-related worrying, post-traumatic stress, or work-related social anxieties. Anxiety can lead to avoidance. Job anxiety can therefore be one explanation for sick leave, work absenteeism, or early retirement."