Dive Brief:
- A Paychex study shows that 80% of survey respondents’ greatest stressor is not spending as much time at home, especially with their children. Paychex, a payroll, HR and benefits outsourcing firm, surveyed 2,000 people ages 18 to 79.
- The 2016 presidential election stressed out 42% of the survey respondents, and 62% said they were concerned that the Trump administration would negatively affect their work-life balance. Among the job categories most affected by the election was the scientific community.
- Study respondents in the arts, entertainment and recreation categories reported being the most stressed, followed by those in the wholesale and retail sectors. Respondents in real estate, warehousing and transportation showed up in the study as the least stressed.
Dive Insight:
Mental health professionals say both employers and employees must recognize stress symptoms to create a psychologically healthy workplace. Stressed out workers often are unproductive, are frequently absent, lack motivation, make bad or snap decisions, are indifferent or apathetic and isolate themselves from coworkers.
Some causes of common work-related stress are: a too heavy or too light workloads; responsibility with little or no authority; job insecurity (caused by reorganization, layoffs, etc.); few or no career development or opportunities; strained or poor relationships with managers, peers or subordinates; unpleasant working environments (noisy, extreme temperatures, no privacy, etc.); and unclear, conflicting, sporadic or non-existent communication.
The Connecticut Psychological Association recommends that employers keep jobs reasonably demanding so that they’re challenging but not grueling. Allow flexible work schedules when possible and encourage workers to have fun.
