WASHINGTON – Stress in the workplace is up sharply. Five years after the economy tanked, on-the-job stress levels keep rising.
Longer work hours, layoffs and budget cuts have produced a workforce wracked by stress. More workers this year compared to last — eight in 10 — say they’re stressed.
The 2013 work stress survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Everest College blames heavier workloads and low pay. Contributing factors include annoying coworkers and frustrating commutes.
Kathleen Hall, CEO of the Stress Institute and the Mindful Living Network is seeing it every day in her patients.
“Ninety percent of the people that I see come to me and they’re just overloaded with stress,” Hall says.
For those burdened by stress, Hall recommends taking stock of themselves.
“You need to do some assessment to find out if it is the job you’re doing, you may need to do something completely different,” she says.
Hall recommends cataloging things that cause stress and on the other side of the ledger, list what you love; what gives you strength and energy…then make choices to reduce stress.
