Sometimes more, sometimes faster and sometimes more flexible: These are the increasing demands of employees. When the resources are not sufficient to work, the tension follows. This is particularly increasing among boys, as the latest Job Stress Index shows.
Health Promotion Switzerland uses the Job Stress Index to measure work stress levels. Unexpectedly, the speed and intensity of work has been steadily increasing since the measurements began in 2014. If the necessary resources were available in the workplace, this would not be a problem.
If this is not the case, the imbalance between workload and resources increases and stress results. Examples of resources in the workplace are motivating working conditions, the overall nature of work, or supportive behavior toward superiors. Less of them are in everyday work, less staff flexibility.
Youth often suffer
The current Job Stress Index comes to the conclusion that, especially in the case of younger employees between the ages of 16 and 24, resources are often insufficient to cope with increasing work intensity. If the index shows an average stress level of 50.83 on a scale from 0 to 100, it is already 52.18 index points for boys.
About 30 percent of people feel exhausted before starting the survey.
Wonderful: Managers often suffer less from stress. The intensity and speed of work is also high there, but thanks to their position they have significantly more resources to cope with the increasing load.
Whether managers or ordinary employees: “In general, 30 percent of the people surveyed feel exhausted before starting work. This emotional exhaustion represents a great risk because it often leads to serious health problems, ”says Achim Elfering, industrial psychologist at the University of Bern.
Billions in losses due to stress
It is well known that stress is a health hazard. And when employees are absent due to stress related illnesses, companies miss out on taking advantage.
But when stressed employees work, they still cause costs, as high levels of stress reduce performance. According to Health Promotion Switzerland, local companies are missing out on a potential performance of around 7.6 billion annually.
Demand less performance or provide more money: In this way, in a somewhat simpler form, companies can protect their employees from stress. It is also in the financial interests of the executive floors.
