New Highs for Stress and Workplace Anger

From awful to worse: Over the previous 30 years, the data on stress at work and our mental well-being at work have steadily declined. The severity of the situation at the moment is illustrated by a recent global survey:

• 71% of workers claim that their family life is badly impacted by work.
• According to 64% of workers, their well-being is negatively impacted by their employment.
• Sixty-two percent of workers claim that their relationships suffer as a result of work.

In actuality, the majority of people in today’s workforce who are attempting to support their families and themselves discover that earning a wage comes with a significant emotional cost. They are less in touch, more irritated with friends, and have less tolerance for the people we love at home. They feel exhausted, listless, depressed, and more tense. We are aware of the negative impact that our workplaces have on our mental wellness, as evidenced by the large number of employees who report feeling that way. As a matter of fact, most workers are prepared to “give less” in order to lessen the emotional harm they endure at work.

• Eighty-one percent of workers globally would put their mental health above a high-paying position.
• Worldwide, 64% of workers acknowledge that they would be willing to forgo a raise in order to work in a position that better supports their mental health.

Many workers think that their manager has a big influence on their emotional well-being at work. A staggering 68 percent of workers would prefer their managers to take more action to assist their mental health, with 35 percent of workers believing their boss does not understand the influence they have on the mental health of their team. This begs several questions: Is my manager experiencing emotional ease more than I am? Is it worthwhile for me to put in the time and effort to try to advance in order to benefit from increased pay and greater mental health and wellbeing at work?

Put otherwise, does a journey up the success ladder reduce stress at work?

• Of managers, 57% wish someone had told them not to accept their current position.
• Managers who are under too much stress at work say they are likely to quit within the next year, according to 46% of managers.
• Furthermore, it is utterly false to believe that a higher salary helps managers manage the emotional stress and anxiety that comes with their own jobs. According to 70% of managers, they would gladly accept a pay decrease right now in exchange for a position that better supports their mental health.

What happens if you reach the very top of the success ladder? Does that make a difference? No, sorry:

• A third of C-level executives report feeling “often” or “always” anxious about their jobs.
• Due to stress at work, 40% of C-level executives say they will probably resign in the next 12 months. Despite being highly compensated, over half of senior executives seem to be so emotionally unhappy that they can’t “take it” any more. From the rank and file to senior management, work-related stress and anxiety have reached pandemic proportions in our workplaces, and the emotional cost to all of us is immense. It’s important to remember that businesses, states, and nations all bear a heavy financial cost that manifests itself in a variety of ways, including decreased productivity, increased employee absenteeism, and higher staff turnover rates, to name a few.

Changing Corporate Culture:

The good news for business executives is that they can boost revenue, their own reputation, and the mental and physical health of their staff by doing one simple thing: adopting a compassionate corporate culture and setting an example for others by treating everyone with respect and kindness. This includes even making the most difficult business decisions, which should always be handled with dignity and respect. So what options do managers at lower levels have? Every manager has the ability to instill a culture of compassion in those under their supervision, and if enough managers at all levels take this action, the organization’s culture will change.