Vienna - Austrian retail workers face additional stress from Christmas songs blaring in shops, their union said on Friday, and urged employers to keep the music down in the coming weeks.

With pressure building up as business becomes hectic in the time leading up to Christmas, many shop workers have complained of excessive exposure to the same few songs over the past years, said Wolfgang Katzian, head of the employees' union GPA-djp.

"Stressed and unnerved staff will not make companies successful," Katzian told a press conference in Vienna.

The union said it was not against Christmas songs as such, but asked they be kept to "bearable levels" for staff. - Sapa-dpa