How to be Happy at Work?
If you think a ping-pong table and massage chairs will make employees find long-lasting fulfillment at work, think again.
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Stress can play a major toll on human beings and their mental and physical well-being. Stress can come from many sources, and one of the largest stressors is the workplace. For employees, workplace stress affects their happiness, productivity, relationships and tenure at a company. For employers, workplace stress can cause employee turnover, unhappiness, low productivty and more.
Signs of a Stressful Work Environment
- Some signs that the whole organization has a stressful environment are high employee turnover, increased absenteeism, long-hours working culture, low productivity and efficiency. (Stress.org, 2016)
- Some of the negative effects stress has on employees are job performance, lower engagement with their work, tense communication with coworkers. (CDC, 2018)
- 41% of workers said stress made them less productive, 33% said it made them less engaged, 15% admitted to looking for a new job because of stress. (Coloniallife, 2019)
- 91% of respondents said that feeling overwhelmingly stressed negatively affects the quality of their work. (Deloitte, 2018)
- More than half of respondents said they often have 12-hour work days, and an equal amount frequently skip lunch because of job stress and demands. (Maximize Success Academy, 2020)
How Work Stress Affects Personal Life
- 7 in 10 adults reported that workplace stress affects their personal relationships. (ADAA, 2006)
- 50% of workers bring their work home, causing interference in their personal and work life. (HBR, 2016)
- When job satisfaction declines so does marital satisfaction, proving a strong work-family stress spillover. (ScienceDirect, 2017)
- One-third of children believe their parent has been always stressed out during this last month. (APA, 2010)
- Nearly half of children reported feeling sad or worried when their parent is stressed out. (APA, 2010)
- More than 20% of workers spend more than 5 hours daily thinking about their stressors. (Coloniallife, 2019)
- 25% said their job is number one stressor in their lives. (Stress.org, 2016)
- Working mothers experience 18% more stress than childless women. (Theswaddle.com, 2019)
- Burnout syndrome accounts for 8% of all occupational illness cases. (Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2018)
- According to studies, 46% of women are more prone than men (27%) to overeat while dealing with working stress. Furthermore, 44% of women, compared to 21% of men, would discuss the distressing issue with friends and family. (Randstad, 2019)
- According to workplace stress statistics, working moms are 18% more stressed than the rest of the labor force. (Globalnews.ca, 2019)
- 80% of workers say work-related stress affects their relationships with colleagues, friends, and families. (MHA, 2022)
Workplace Stress Factors
- Most common causes of workplace stress are workload (44%), lack of support (14%), changes at work (8%). (HSE, 2019)
- Six in 10 adults listed work and money as a significant source of stress. (APA, 2019)
- One in three workers say their boss thinks work should be a top priority and come before family life. (Oen Magazine, 2016)
- 58% of employees have left a job, or would consider leaving because of negative office politics. (Randstad, 2018)
- A third of employees say their employer thinks the ideal employee would be available 24-hours a day. (Oen Magazine, 2016)
- Some other common stress factors are low salaries, lack of opportunity for growth, unrealistic job expectations, and long hours. (SHRM, 2020)
- 17% of healthcare workers report being “very stressed” at work. (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2020)
- 80% of remote employees say they are “not anxious at all” or “stressed to a modest degree.” (Pwc, 2021)
- Workers who work from home are more likely to be stress-free. (Flex Jobs, 2022)
- The primary stress factors among British workers are workload pressures, tight deadlines, too much responsibility, and lack of managerial support. (HSE, 2022)
- Low salaries, heavy workloads, and unrealistic expectations impact stress levels among US workers. (APA, 2021)
- Half of the workers also state that a lack of growth or advancement opportunities is another significant stress factor. (APA, 2021)
- More than two in five workers say that lack of participation in decision-making and problems with supervisors and colleagues also contribute to stress at work. (APA, 2021)
- 45% say physical illnesses or ailments and unpleasant or dangerous physical conditions impact their work-related stress. (APA, 2021)
- For Millennials and Gen Zs, the main stress factors are workload, poor life-work balance, and the inability to be themselves at work. (Deloitte, 2022)
Overall Workplace Stress Trends
- 55% of Americans reported feeling stress during each day. (Gallup, 2019)
- 40% of workers reported their job was extremely stressful. (Stress.org, 2016)
- 80% of workers feel stress on the job, nearly half said they need help in learning how to manage stress. (The Marlin Company, 2001)
- 38% of respondents said they feel more pressure at work currently than they were a year ago. (The Marlin Company, 2001)
- Millennials and Gen Z report highest levels of stress and have the most trouble coping with stress. (APA, 2014)
- Seven in 10 Americans in the poorest 20% of the population said they experienced stress daily, compared to four in 10 Americans in the richest 20% of the population. (Gallup, 2019)
- Work was the third most common source of stress for 61% of respondents, with money and the future of our nation at the top. (APA, 2017)
- 51% of workers in low-paying jobs reported being stressed, and 41% of average and high-paying jobs reported feeling the negative effects of stress. (SHRM, 2020)
- Long working hours are cited as the primary source of work-related stress by 21% of employees. (Researchgate.net, 2017)
- Surprisingly, higher-income workers are more likely to feel job stress. (The Relationship Between Job Stress and Income Level (Verywellmind.com, 2020)
- 33,3% of customer service personnel report regularly feeling emotional exhaustion after work. (Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2021)
- According to 2019 workplace stress data, up to 55% of US people are stressed at work. (Stress, 2019)
- According to a US LinkedIn survey of 1,000 people earning between $51,000 and $75,000 have the lowest stress level. (CNBC, 2018)
- 70% of individuals earning $200,000 or more each month reported being constantly anxious. (LinkedIn, 2018)
- Some people with large salaries admit that the cause of their susceptibility to stress is greed, which grows along with their money, resulting in feeling mentally exhausted. (CNBC, 2018)
- One of the biggest causes of workplace stress is the lack of a solid work-life balance. (Tiny Pulse, 2017)
- Many employees are feeling swamped by the workload. Work overload is not the only source of stress for employees; “underload” is also a factor. (Tiny Pulse, 2017)
- In a Survey of 100+ HR professionals, employee wellbeing was among the top priorities for HR Leadership, indicating its critical role in supporting employee productivity, retention, and driving business value.
- Front-line workers (67%) are more likely to experience negative impacts of stress compared to middle-level (64%) and upper-level employees (54%). (APA, 2021)
- Nearly a million UK workers suffer from workplace stress, anxiety, or depression. (HSE, 2022)
- Depression and anxiety account for 51% of work-related health issues. 55% of the lost working days were lost due to these health cases. (HSE, 2022)
- In the UK, work-related stress was most prevalent among employees in education, public administration and defense, and human health and social work activities. (HSE, 2022)
- Small workplaces with less than 50 employees report a lower rate of work-related stress. (HSE, 2022)
Cost of Workplace Stress
- Effective stress management reduces sickness absence costs by up to 20%. (StressManagementSociety, 2016)
- Stressed workers incur healthcare costs twice as high than other employees. (HealthAdvocate, 2009)
- The consequences of stress-related illnesses cost businesses an estimated $200 to $300 billion a year in lost productivity. (HealthAdvocate, 2018)
- Absenteeism in the workplace due to depression costs the economy around $23.3 billion per year. (APA, 2015)
- 12.8 million working days are lost in a year due to work-related stress, depression, or anxiety. (HSE, 2019)
- 12% of respondents have called in sick because of job stress. (Maximize Success Academy, 2020)
- Workplace stress leads to a 50% increase in voluntary turnover. (HBR, 2015)
- 59% of employees have experienced negative impacts due to work-related stress. For 26%, it negatively affected their interest, motivation, or energy, 21% had difficulty focusing, and 19% said they didn’t put in the same effort as before due to stress. (APA, 2021)
- British employees lost 17 million working days due to workplace stress. (HSE, 2022)
- 71% of workers find concentrating difficult because of the stress. (MHA, 2022)
- 56% are actively looking for a new job because of stressful workplaces. (MHA, 2022)
- Almost half of the employees say that work stress has led to other mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. (MHA, 2022)
- 44% of Gen Zs and 43% of Millennials say that many coworkers have left their companies due to stress. (Deloitte, 2022)
Health Effects of Stress
- Workplace stress is linked to 70% of visits to the doctor and for 85% of serious illnesses. (StressManagementSociety, 2016)
- 35% feel the workplace is negatively affecting physical and emotional employee well-being. (The Marlin Company, 2001)
- Women are more likely than men to experience physical symptoms of stress and are also more likely to cope with stress with unhealthy behaviors. (HealthAdvocate, 2009)
- To cope with stress many employees pick up unhealthy habits such as alcohol, prescription pain medication and other substances. (NCBI, 2017)
- Approximately half of US employees have experienced physical fatigue due to work-related stress, 38% experienced cognitive weariness, and 35% dealt with emotional exhaustion. (APA, 2021)
- Two-fifths of adults reported overeating due to stress, and a third reported skipping a meal because of stress in the last month. (APA, 2010)
- 62% of workers said they end the day with neck pain, 44% reported stressed out eyes and 34% reported difficulty in sleeping because of stress. (Maximize Success Academy, 2020)
- Poor leadership and stress-producing employers have been linked to heart disease in employees. (Karolinska Institutet, 2009)
- The most common physical symptoms of stress are irritability (45%), fatigue (41%), and lack of energy or motivation (38%). (APA, 2010)
- Stress-related distraction or sleepiness account for 60-80% of accidents on the job. (HealthAdvocate, 2009)
- When faced with work-related stress, women are more prone than men to overeat, while males are more likely to turn to drugs. (thebusinesswomanmedia.com, 2020)
- Work-related depression accounts for 44% of all diseases among stressed employees. These also account for roughly 54% of all working days missed due to illness. (Unssc.org, 2019)
Effective Stress and Management Prevention
- The most-reported stress management techniques are listening to music, exercising, watching tv, and going online. (APA, 2014)
- 64% of employees who reported feeling passionate about their work also reported feeling stressed, therefore disproving the myth that passion does not mean no stress. (Deloitte, 2018)
- One in five Americans (20%) report they never engage in an activity to help relieve or manage their stress. (APA, 2014)
- 64% of employees reported their organization offered support related to job stress. (PeopleManagement, 2019)
- Actions managers can take to effectively manage stress: offer free or subsidized screenings for depression, provide lifestyle coaching, raise awareness about mental health, create dedicated and quiet places for meditation and practicing mindfulness, host seminars for better stress management, join a workplace wellness program. (CDC, 2018)
- Some strategies for employers to lower workplace stress are: flexible working hours, work from home, longer lunch hours, job sharing, etc. (HealthAdvocate, 2009)
Work stress is a concern for both employees and employers because, as the statistics above show, there is a clear link between employee wellbeing and the performance of a company.
Written by SHORTLISTER EDITORIAL TEAM
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