Work stress is not going away. A new survey by Vivian Health found that almost half of the respondents find their jobs to be stressful, and 50% have considered or actively applied for a new industry in the last year. Here is the ranking of the most stressful industries:
- Medical & Health Services
- Financial Services and Accountancy
- IT & telecoms
- Hospitality and leisure
- Education
- Media, marketing, advertising, PR & sales
- Manufacturing
- Retail
- Transportation & distribution
- Construction
When it comes to stress leading to absences, 52% of workers between the ages of 25 and 34 took a stress-related absence in the past year, compared to only a quarter of those aged 45 to 54 taking stress-related sick days during the same period.
Ranking these absences in the past 12 months by industry is as follows:
- Financial Services and Accounting
- IT & Telecoms
- Manufacturing
- Retail
- Media, Marketing, Advertising, PR & Sales
- Education
- Construction
- Medical & Health Services
- Hospitality and Leisure
- Transportation & Distribution
in reaction to the stress, around 50% of respondents said they had applied for or considered a role within a different industry over the last year.
The survey included information on the Freudenberger model, which has been simplified and often used to measure the extent of the effects caused by stress and burnout in the medical field.
Stage 1
This is a healthy “honeymoon” stage, where workers will have high productivity levels and experience job satisfaction.
Stage 2
If you’re experiencing increased feelings of irritability, are less patient with those around you and have reduced sleep quality and are struggling to focus at work, there’s a good chance you’re experiencing the onset of stress, stage 2 of burnout.
Stage 3
Stage 3 is the chronic stress stage. When you hit this stage, you’re experiencing persistent tiredness, procrastinating from priorities, feeling overwhelmed with pressure and withdrawing socially from those you work with and people outside of work.
Stage 4
This stage is the burnout stage. If you find that you’re catching more bugs, getting an upset stomach often or experiencing regular headaches, this is probably the stage you’re at as your body sends you physical cues trying to tell you that you need to slow down. You may feel pessimistic and be neglecting your own personal needs, as well as those around you.
Stage 5
The final stage of the model is habitual burnout. Stage 5 is when you may experience chronic sadness, mental fatigue and depression
