This Is Why Work Stress Is A Modern Epidemic

Last week's shootings outside the Empire State Building in New York City shone a spotlight on mental health issues in the workplace. While it's not clear whether mental illness drove Jeffrey Johnson to target a former colleague a year after being laid off from his job at Hazan Imports, it's clear that Johnson -- who was slain by police after apparently shooting to death his former co-worker -- was under extraordinary stress. (The New York Post reports that the former fashion accessories designer was being evicted from his apartment, on top of being jobless.)

Johnson's case was extreme, but most people are grappling with work stress, and a spate of new studies show what's causing it and its fallout.