68% Of Employees Are Suffering From Work Related Stress
Further to our recent article on work related stress, a new survey conducted by alldayPA has found that 68% of employees were suffering from work related stress.
In a survey consisting of 2000 respondents, alldayPA found that not only were 68% of those respondents suffering from work related stress, but also found the following:-
- 6% of full-time employees have taken no annual leave whatsoever in the past year. Nevertheless, the figure for the self-employed was far higher at 45%
- 48% of full-time employees have not taken any time off work due to sickness in the past year. This compares to 67% for the self-employed
- In terms of productivity levels, whereas 20% said they were just as productive working at home as they were in the office, 37% said they were more productive working in the office, compared to 28% who said they were more productive working from home
- 5% of the respondents stated that they suffer from work related stress all of the time that they are working, whilst 44% said that the stress impacted them during part of their working hours. Another 19% stated they suffered from stress for the majority of the time they were working. In total, therefore, 68% of the respondents stated that they suffered from work related stress to some extent whilst working
- The biggest cited cause of work related stress was excessive workload (29%), followed by difficulties in maintaining a good work life balance (27%), and excessive numbers of work communications such as telephone call, texts, and emails (21%). Other causes cited were problems with working hours (17%), deadlines (16%), and problems with managers (14%).
- The sectors of the economy with the highests work related stress levels were in finance, accountancy, and banking, and the region with thge highest stress levels was London, in which 9% of full-time employees stated that they felt stressed at all times during working hours
Commenting upon the survey findings, Eden Mayers, the HR consultancy firm, told alldayPA that: "Employees need to identify what is making them stressed at work and ask for support. If it’s related to working relationships with others, speak to HR or your manager. Likewise, if it’s the volume of work, gather the evidence and have a frank conversation with your manager, with HR present if necessary. If your company has Mental Health First Aiders, talk to them. They may be able to signpost you to places to get support. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to your employer, go and see your GP. Don’t bottle it up."
Almost Two-Fifths Of Workers Looking To Change Jobs
A new survey conducted by Brook Corporate Developments has found that the so-called 'Great Resignation' is continuing into 2022, with 39.8% of workers actively looking to change jobs, with higher salaries the most cited reason (27.6%).
As we have highlighted in a previous article, there are major problems within the UK economy with labour shortages. The survey by Brook Corporate Developments confirms that this issue remains ongoing, with the survey finding that 13% of employers overall were suffering with staff shortages, with the problem being most acute amongst employers with 10 or more staff, with 31% of those employers reporting shortages
Quitter's Remorse
Nevertheless, in a recent article, the BBC report that there has been a sizeable amount of what it calls 'quitter's remorse', with a Harris survey for USA Today of 2000 respondents finding that 1 in 5 workers in the United States who had changed job, regretted their decision.
The Associate Professor of Management at Mays Business School, Texas A&M University, Anthony Klotz, told the BBC that: "Feeling out-of-sorts in a new role, and sometimes pining for an old job, is a process that can take up to two years while an employee builds up their social capital. Every company culture is different: you have to adjust and slowly build up your relationships, efficiency and effectiveness at the job."
