The 21st century is a time of novelty, rapid change and uncertainty. What is important and trendy today, and we’re trying to keep pace with, is outdated and futile tomorrow, and we need to adapt. We’re constantly trying to stay adequate and competitive both at work and in our personal lives.
The result – we end up on an endless goose chase to learn more, attain more, perform better and achieve more.
Everything is so polished and perfect and politically correct, from people’s faces to companies’ offices to corporate expectations and rules. It almost feels as though we need to be perfect in every aspect, all the time in order to be competitive. Throw in the ability we have today to compare ourselves to and compete with pretty much everybody else on earth, and we’ve got ourselves a recipe for disaster.
How stress impacts individuals?
All of the above in mind, it’s no wonder that stress has become a pandemic globally, and a silent killer that affects our well being and health worldwide. Unfortunately, living with stress is something we’ve gotten so used to that many of us never even notice it any more. Being constantly busy, on the go, overwhelmed by endless to-do lists – that’s just how life is today. Well, it doesn’t make it right. For one, because it can actually kill you.
Here are some signs that your body and psyche and undergoing stress:
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Digestive problems – stomach ache, ulcers, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)
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Pain – chronic back pain, headaches, etc.
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Sleep disturbances – inability to sleep, waking up in the middle of the night or constant sleepiness
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Difficulty concentrating – mental fog and inability to stay focused and make decisions
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Heart problems – chest pain, high blood pressure, palpitations
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Breathing – shortness of breath, feeling as if there is a lump in your throat
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Anxiety – feeling constantly uneasy and developing nervous tics or other unhealthy habits, losing appetite or overeating, overdrinking, etc. as a result
Oftentimes, we find out just how much stress is affecting us only when it has led to serious physical and/ or mental health issues. When we don’t look after ourselves and take measures to change what is causing us stress or change our attitude towards it (in cases when the stressor is unavoidable), stress can lead to serious problems. Some of them include:
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Obesity
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Diabetes
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Cardiovascular problems
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Depression and other mental health problems
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Arthritis
To name but a few….
Some numbers:
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83% of employees in the United States suffer from work-related stress, with 54% reporting that work stress affects their home life.
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17% of finance and insurance staff exhibit signs of burnout, higher than the 12% average across all sectors in the United Kingdom
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1in 5 employees consider leaving their jobs due to feeling overwhelmed, that is 20% of the workforce
How stress impacts businesses?
As human beings are the make up of any organisation large and small, no surprise that the stress employees endure affects the wellbeing and financial performance of businesses too.
Similar to individuals being unable to recognise just how severely chronic stress is affecting them until they face a serious issue, businesses are often oblivious to how having stressed employees is affecting their financial results and growth potentials.
Stress directly impacts employees’ work in various different ways. Here’s just a few:
Productivity – when individuals are under pressure, anxious and overwhelmed by demands, they can’t focus and / or lose motivation. As a result, they do less in the time they have.
Bad decisions – one of the side effects of stress is the inability to think clearly which leads to bad business decisions and mistakes, sometimes costing businesses dearly.
Lack of motivation – people who are struggling with the demands of their job or life altogether, who feel they are just another cog in the wheel, who don’t feel looked after, lose motivation. Loss of motivation can be contagious and affect their co-workers too.
Low morale – when people are overwhelmed by pressures and reach their limits they can burst out towards co-workers or even customers. This can negatively affect the morale of others, teamwork and the culture within the company, not to mention financial losses from lost customers.
Turnover – eventually when people can no longer take in the stress at work, they consider quitting and finding another job.
Absenteeism – constant stress leads to physical and / or mental health problems which in turn lead to sick days.
Financial losses – all of these lead directly and indirectly to financial losses.
How stress impacts businesses in numbers
€20 billion is the cost to European companies of the negative effects of work-related stress employees suffer (low productivity, bad decisions. etc.)
$300 billion is the cost to businesses due to health expenses, absenteeism, and poor performance In the United States.
1 million employees in the United States are absent from work every day because of stress related reasons.
40% of turnover in the average mid-sized company is due to stress related issues. Replacing a single employee costs companies between half to two times their annual salary.
Stress is, unfortunately, a part of our lives today but it does have serious consequences on both individuals and organisations. Thus, there’s a pressing need to learn to cope with stress and build resilience on an individual and organisational level if we want to thrive personally and professionally and live a good life.
