68% of workers suffer from stress and anxiety, according to survey

The constant changes in organizations and in the world of work have impact on mental health and in the quality of life of the collaborators.

And while many have found virtuality to be a relief and make it easier to perform from anywhere, work and personal balance The one that has been talked about since before the health crisis still seems to be far away. This is shown by the “Disconnect to Reconnect” survey carried out by the Adecco Group, where stress and anxiety derived from work and related to the pandemic were analyzed.

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The study resulted from a survey of 1,116 employees in 131 companies from Canada, Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, India, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, USA, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, confirmed that most companies were not aware of this situation until the pandemic.

68% of employees identified with these reactions – stress and anxiety- frequently, and they said they felt that way about their job since before the pandemic. Of this percentage, 22% acknowledge that they experience this situation very often or always and the other 46% that sometimes. 33% say that they never or rarely suffer from these ailments.
Likewise, it was shown that 59% of the organizations believed that since the pandemic the stress level of their workers had increased, although only 25% of them agreed with this statement.

The study indicates that of the different segments, those who felt stress more or less often compared to the average were the younger generations: in Generation Z 77% and in Generation Y 73%. By gender, in women it is accentuated (72%).
The possibility of enjoying spaces that alleviate these states of mental health becomes more complex when digitization allows people to have the office on their cell phone all the time with mail and corporate social networks on board.

And this is confirmed by the study by the Adecco Group, which confirms that a hyperconnected digital environment makes it increasingly difficult to disconnect.

The survey showed that 45% of staff had to work after hours at least three days a week. More than half of the collaborators – 60% – check their email outside of working hours, at least 4 days a week. On the other hand, 61% of the younger staff (generation Z) and with more technological skills, assured that they worked outside of their regulated hours, and 69% checked their email. Indeed, it was also confirmed that the more they worked outside of their shift, they felt greater stress and difficulties in disconnecting from work.

The Adecco study shows a whole range of activities that people use to disconnect from their work commitments. The first, perhaps related to what the low or almost zero relationship with people in the pandemic has implied, is spending time with friends and family (41%). Then, watch television (29%), exercise (29%9 and listen to music (27%).

The companies assure that well-being has become relevant, according to 74% of those consulted. And your expectation is that your plans translate in higher employee engagement (39%), greater staff satisfaction (24%), reducing the number of absences due to illness (13%), higher productivity (11%), and high employee turnover (8%).

THE SIGNS

Darcio Fuentes, manager of the National Onsite Accounts Unit of Adecco Colombia, considers that “the clinical features of burnout syndrome or burnout are closely related to work stress and that eight characteristics can be identified”.

The first is related to changes in mood that leads to a feeling of sadness and decay. Then there is demotivation and decreased energy.

The third symptom isl mental exhaustion and slower execution of activities. It also leads to a “sensitivity to criticism and excessive reaction to the correction of faults and labor errors.”

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Manifestations also occur on a physical level with muscle pain and stiffness, spasms and lumbago, as well as gastrointestinal problems, changes (increase or decrease) in appetite and digestive irritability. Headaches and alterations in sexual appetite also appear.

Constanza Gomez Guasca