We all know the stats. Work hours are increasing, and so are our collective stress levels. But is it all due to deadly deadlines and unappreciative bosses? Not according to a recent Canadian study published in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The new findings
Researchers from the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto studied data from 2737 adult workers and discovered that workers most engaged with their work—as in, they saw their work as a ‘career’ rather than just a ‘job’—were among the most stressed. The reason, say the scientists, is because such workers experience “less perceived distance between him/herself and work”.
“The people who report high stress are the ones most invested in their jobs,” says Dr Carolyn Dewa, Senior Scientist and Head of CAMH’s Work and Well-being Research and Evaluation Program. “Employers should be very concerned with keeping this population healthy. From a business perspective, it is in a company’s best interest to support these workers.”
Other stress ‘hot spots’ were situations whereby workers felt their jobs or performance impacted upon other colleagues, the environment or the company profits.
Interestingly, the least stressed workers were single, white males under the age of 25 who worked in a small business.
And the more fulfilling workers deemed their positions to be, the less likely he/she was to describe work as ‘stressful’.
Confirming what we know
The study found that work stress is exacerbated when a worker’s job disrupts relationships, when the hours are less predictable and when he/she needed to work a significant distance from home.
And the take-out: “Employers should be asking, ‘What am I doing to reduce stress in my most valuable people?’” Dewa says.
References available on request