What’s causing people to feel the most stress at work?

Stress – it can affect us all at times. From feeling overwhelmed, under pressure or unable to cope, there are many reasons why stress could come knocking at our door. That’s why every year since 1992, April marks Stress Awareness Month, a dedicated time to help increase public awareness about both the causes and cures for our modern stress epidemic.  

Whilst there are many causes of stress, our working lives can be a big factor. In October 2019, we ran a poll asking people  ‘What caused them the most stress whilst at work?’ The most voted cause with 38% of responses was ‘colleagues or members of staff in the business’. Second most voted was ‘personal income and financial worries’ with 25% of votes and third voted with 12% was ‘the health of either themself or a family member’.  

Now, 2 and a half years on, and post pandemic, we’ve explored again the causes of stress at work and if they might have changed. And, the results are rather different:  

• 53% voted personal income and financial worries as their biggest cause of stress at work;  
• 20% said it was the stability of the company;  
• 20% also said childcare issues was the cause of their stress at work; and  
• 6% voted the health of either themself or a family member as their biggest cause of stress at work.  

Interestingly, there wasn’t a single vote for ‘colleagues or members of staff in the business’ as a cause of workplace stress, indicating a complete shift in peoples work lives.  

It’s no surprise though that top of the poll, which was conducted last month, was financial worries (53%). Firstly, the pandemic hit people hard as many employees were furloughed, given reduced hours or even made redundant. And now, post pandemic, we are finding ourselves in a cost of living crisis with increased fuel prices, utility bills, energy and more.  

This is likely to also tie in with the next most voted causes of stress. Those who voted stability of the company as their biggest cause of stress (20%), are likely to be worrying about the financial impact it could have on them should they lose their job. As well, the same percentage of people (20%) voted childcare issues as their cause of stress in the workplace. Whilst there is lots to consider when choosing childcare, cost can be a big deciding factor. And with the current financial crisis hitting families so hard, it is not surprising this is a real cause for concern.  

Financial education  

No matter what employees are stressed about, it can have a knock-on effect to business, especially financial stress. When employees are worried about money it can affect their morale, productivity and presentism and this can ultimately impact your bottom line.  

Financial education can help support employees with their finances, and if suitably designed can help to provide a better understanding for those who are really struggling, all the way through to those who may be more financially stable. Good financial education should be helping employees plan for their short, medium and long term financial futures.   

No matter how you choose to support your employees, it’s clear to see that people are in need of financial help more now than ever before. And, as an employer you have a role to play to help reduce employees stress levels for both their wellbeing and your business.  

If you are looking for ways to help support your employees with reducing their financial stress, take a look at our latest financial wellbeing guide here. We also recently ran a webinar  on the cost-of-living crisis which you and your employees can watch for free here.  

Find out more about the types and styles of financial education we offer by visiting the Secondsight website here.  

 

Statistics taken from Secondsight’s latest poll which ran from 17/03/22 – 19/04/22.   

Secondsight is a trading name of Foster Denovo Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.