Stress Levels Still High With Workload as Frequent Cause

A news release from ComPsych, an employee assistance program provider, said 29% had “constant but manageable stress” and a scant 4% reported that their stress level was low. The company said the latest data for those with high stress was down 2% from a previous survey during the first half of 2005. Those pinpointing workload was up 5% from the earlier poll.

In addition to workload problems, stress factors also included people issues (28%) and juggling work and home life demands (19%).

Some 38% of respondents said they lost an hour per day in productivity because they were stressed out, while the same amount said they lost 15 to 30 minutes per day and a quarter (24%) said their productivity was unaffected.

In addition to the impact of stress on productivity, nearly half (46%) said stress and personal relationship issues cause them to miss work. Some 35% said their medical problems kept them out of work, and 19% reported that caregiving responsibilities forced them to miss work.

“Corporate profitability has improved; however, employers have been slow to reinvest in new hires,” said Dr. Richard Chaifetz, chairman and CEO of ComPsych. “As business picks up, so do workload and stress levels. These sustained levels have eroded morale and created an employee attitude of simply preserving the status quo, which may curtail productivity in the coming months.”

The survey was conducted from September 1, 2005 to October 1, 2005 and included more than 1,000 responses from ComPsych client companies.