The Relationship Between Stress and Health Complaints’ Effect on Workplace Productivity

The majority of these nine health issues are being fueled by one person, which could be detrimental to the way you work.

Not giving your best at work? According to a recent Japanese study, stress may be a precursor to nearly all of the nine health disorders that are likely to be at fault.

Researchers from the University of Tsukuba examined information from over 12,500 Japanese workers that was obtained from health insurance claims, surveys, and reports from government-mandated health check-ups and employee stress.

They discovered that employees who complained about being the least productive at work were probably dealing with one or more of the following nine issues. From most prevalent to rarest:

• symptoms of depression
• Absence of hunger
• Too little sleep
• Shortness of breath and/or palpitations in the heart
• wooziness
• Joint discomfort
• Head Pain
• digestive/intestinal issues
• either constipation or diarrhea
• Males who expressed high levels of inefficiency at work also frequently mentioned one or more of the following four symptoms:

• Mental disease
• back discomfort in the lower back
• eye fatigue
• stiff shoulders and/or neck
• The following categories of individuals reported being less productive at work:

Men Managers (as opposed to non-managerial staff) Older adults

Professionals in customer service (as opposed to sales and administration)
A suggested change of emphasis
Researchers found that stress reduction programs, as opposed to removing risk factors for diseases related to lifestyle choices like smoking and inactivity, may help employers increase worker productivity. This is because stress can be the source of almost any ailment that distracts workers of any gender.

In addition to reducing excessive work hours, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry advises businesses to try to enhance employee health by promoting a healthy diet and exercise regimen.

However, experts advise firms to prioritize enhancing employees’ sleep, stress levels, and mental wellness. In specifically, sleep issues can either directly or indirectly result in:

• putting in lengthy hours at work
• Overload at work
• Conflicts between people
• low contentment at work
• According to a 2021 study that was published in the Kansas Journal of Medicine, workers who expressed higher levels of stress were also far more likely to be unproductive at work.

According to the World Health Organization, the following things might lead to stress at work:

• Inadequate work organization, as measured by the design and management of jobs and work systems
• Inadequate work design, or insufficient control over work processes
• Inadequate supervision
• unfavorable working circumstances
• Absence of assistance from coworkers and managers