Workplace stress causing 60% employees to quit jobs soon: TimesJobs survey

Any job can have stressful elements, even if you love what you do. However, when 80% of working professionals complain that they suffer from stress and their organizations don't have any programs to manage stress at work – it is something to be alarmed about.

‘Workplace stress’ or ‘occupational stress is identified as a medical hazard, which has serious physical and psychological implications on individuals' well being. Every working professional- regardless of age, experience, gender and profile has felt the pressure of work-related stress at some point in their career.

“While some level of stress is acceptable and even beneficial to keep you on your toes, the problems arise when it becomes overwhelming or chronic. In today’s fast-paced work environment, chronic stress has become a common ailment for many professionals, issues such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, migraines, and heart problems start affecting employee well being and productivity. The TimesJobs study reveals, 60% of employees find workplace stress so high that they want to quit their jobs. This is not a healthy sign," says Nilanjan Roy, Head of Strategy, Times Business Solutions.

Smaller Organizations are more stressful         

The TimesJobs study reveals 80% of employees complain of stress at work, to the extent that nearly 60% want to quit their jobs because of high stress levels.

Further, employees belonging to small-size organizations report comparatively higher level of stress at work than employees from large organizations. About 50% employees from small organizations said they face high level of stress at work while 30% employees from large organizations say so.

Half of all employees attribute stress at workplace to having a bad boss. For 35% employees their poor pay is a major cause of stress. Nearly 30% employees say that a bad work environment causes them stress, 25% employees cite unclear job expectations as the reason for their stress and lack of recognition at workplace is resulting in stress for 20% employees.

Stress takes its Toll

Employees are reporting multiple physical and psychological disorders dues to work stress. About 35% employees have developed insomnia, 30% feel tired & fatigued all the time, loss of appetite is a major physical impact for 25% employees and 10% say they have persistent body aches.

On the psychological front, 40% employees report depression as the main consequence of workplace stress. Increased irritability has occurred to 25% employees, another 25% complaint of increased incidences of anger and 10% have developed anxiety issues.

While 60% employees want to quit their jobs because of workplace stress, 20% feel venting it out helps them. For 10% employees relaxation techniques such as deep breathing and meditation help them cope with stress and another 10% take a break and go on vacation to recover from stress.

While 90% employees are interested in participating in corporate stress management programs, it is revealing that 80% of them report that there are no such programs offered by their organizations states the TimesJobs Study.

Stress causes many long-term adverse impacts, in order to combat this growing menace employer must work with their employees to diagnose and cure this rampant condition. Having an employee-friendly culture, a flexible work environment, feedback and recognition programs, stress management sessions and open communication policies are some steps that can help reduce stress levels within organizations significantly.