ComPsych Reports High Stress Continues to Weigh Workers Down

 A new ComPsych report on the impact of stress in the workplace has found that more than two-thirds of employees are stressed out while only 5 percent are reported as relaxed most of the time. The survey showed:

• Twice as many employees (64 percent) reported crippling levels of stress as those who said they suffered from stress but could handle it (31 percent). The other 5 percent reported no stress on the job.
• 35 percent said they lost an hour or more of work time to stress every day. More than 40 percent said they lost 15-30 minutes of productive work time a day due to stress. About a quarter said stress did not take a toll on their hours of work.
• Nearly half said that, at least one day a year and as many as four, they are at work but are too stressed out to be productive. Almost 30 percent put that number at five days or more a year. The rest, about 25 percent, said stress never affected their daily productivity.

Lack of sleep, lack of interest in working out, and weight gain were the top three stress-related side effects reported by the group.

“Sustained, high levels of stress have a deleterious effect on work product as well as physical health,” said Richard Chaifetz, chairman and CEO of ComPsych. “Proactively addressing stress is becoming part of an overall well-being strategy for employers, and we are seeing an increased effort to address both the mental and physical aspects of stress through integrated EAP and wellness programs.”