Ever feel overly stressed at work? Has such stress led to accidents on the job?
According to research commissioned by Mind, work tops the list in the most stressful factors in people’s lives, with one in three people (34 percent) saying their work life was either very or quite stressful, more so than debt or financial problems (30 percent) or health (17 percent).
The survey of more than 2,000 people discovered that workplace stress has led to 7 percent (rising to 10 percent amongst 18 to 24 year olds) having suicidal thoughts and one in five people (18 percent) developing anxiety.
Stress has often caused individuals to resort to alcohol and drugs to get by. Nearly three in five people (57 percent) claim they drink after work and one in seven (14 percent) drink at times during the working day to cope with workplace stress and pressure.
Smoking, Taking Pills Popular Among Some Workers
It isn’t just turning to the bottle for some workers to relieve stress, as other
coping mechanisms people cited included smoking (28 percent), taking antidepressants (15 percent), over the counter sleeping aids (16 percent) and prescribed sleeping tablets (10 percent).
The findings also show that a culture of fear and silence about stress and mental health problems is expensive to employers over time.
Among other findings from the report:
- One in five (19 percent) take a day off sick because of stress, but 90 percent of those people cited a different reason for their absence.
- One in ten (9 percent) have resigned from a job due to stress and one in four (25 percent) have considered resigning due to work pressure.
- One in five (19 percent) felt they couldn’t tell their boss if they were overly stressed.
- Of the 22 percent who have a diagnosed mental health problem, less than half (10 percent) had actually told their boss about their diagnosis.
- Over half of managers (56 percent) said they would like to do more to improve staff mental wellbeing but they needed more training and/ or guidance and 46 percent said they would like to do more but it is not a priority in their organisation.
According to Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, “Our research shows that employees are still experiencing high levels of stress at work, which is negatively impacting their physical and mental health. Improving mental wellbeing in the workplace doesn’t have to cost a lot.”
So, has workplace stress led you to do poorly at work or even suffer an accident as a result?
Author Michael B. Stack, CPA, Director of Operations, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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