By HealthDay News
Four in 10 people in the U.S. are considering changing jobs because of pandemic-related stress, a new survey says. File Photo by Trask Smith/UPI | License Photo
The pressures of the pandemic have dramatically altered the American workplace, and now a new survey shows that many folks who have struggled with low salaries, long hours and lack of opportunity plan to change jobs, the American Psychological Association said Tuesday.
More than 40% of workers said they plan to make the switch in the coming year, the poll found.
If that occurs, it could seriously affect many industries already facing shortages of workers, particularly in the hospitality and health care industry, the survey authors noted.
According to the American Psychological Association survey, 59% of respondents had experienced the effects of work-related stress.
The most common complaints were low salaries (56%, up from 49% in 2019), long hours (54%, up from 46%) and lack of opportunity for growth or advancement (52%, up from 44%).
About 44% said that they intended to find jobs outside of their company or organization in the next year, up from 32% in 2019. These numbers were even more striking among certain groups -- 58% among Hispanic workers, 57% of Black workers, 56% of LGBTQ+ workers and 63% of workers with disabilities.
"Stress at work can have broad negative consequences for employers and employees alike, including loss of productivity, high turnover and repercussions for the employee's physical and emotional health," said APA CEO Arthur Evans, Jr.
"A workplace that pays attention to worker well-being is better positioned to recruit and retain engaged and productive staff," Evans said.
Nearly 60% of workers said they had felt negative effects of work-related stress in the past month, including a lack of interest, motivation or energy (26%), difficulty focusing (21%), or a lack of effort at work (19%).
Among front-line workers, 67% said they had negative effects of work-related stress and 35% said they were often fed up at work.
Workers who perform manual labor, or customer service, sales or entertainment were more likely than those who work in desk jobs to have experienced physical fatigue (51% and 53% versus 38%, respectively), mental weariness (41% and 44% versus 29%) and emotional exhaustion (41% and 40% versus 25%) often in the past 30 days.
The online survey, conducted by The Harris Poll, questioned more than 1,500 U.S. workers between July 26 and Aug. 4, 2021.
Among workers, 87% indicated that there are steps that employers can take to improve employee well-being and maybe reduce turnover.
The employees thought flexible hours (34%), encouraging employees to take care of their health (32%), encouraging employees to use paid time off (30%), and encouraging breaks during the workday (30%) would improve conditions.
"During the pandemic, many employers switched to remote work where possible, thus providing greater flexibility for their employees," Evans said in an APA news release.
"Policies that promote flexible hours and breaks during the workday and provide other forms of support for employees to take care of themselves may also help employers retain staff in competitive markets," Evans said.More information
For more on the effects of COVID-19 on the economy, head to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
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Worker stress high during pandemic, particularly among health staffs, study finds
Researchers say that stress during the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially high for medical workers, specifically those who are younger and are women, has taken a particularly high toll.
Researchers say that stress during the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially high for medical workers, specifically those who are younger and are women, has taken a particularly high toll.
File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 6 (UPI) -- People's stress levels have been high across the board since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but particularly so for healthcare workers, women and those age 50 and younger, a study published Wednesday by PLOS ONE found.
In the assessment of more than 10,000 adults in 44 countries, including the United States, during the first half of 2020, study participants scored as high as 90 on the visual analog scale -- a 0 to 100 scoring system designed to measure stress levels, the data showed
Oct. 6 (UPI) -- People's stress levels have been high across the board since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but particularly so for healthcare workers, women and those age 50 and younger, a study published Wednesday by PLOS ONE found.
In the assessment of more than 10,000 adults in 44 countries, including the United States, during the first half of 2020, study participants scored as high as 90 on the visual analog scale -- a 0 to 100 scoring system designed to measure stress levels, the data showed
Physicians and paramedics registered among the highest scores, above 90, on average, according to the researchers.
Compared with workers in other occupations, healthcare staffs were more than twice as likely to score above 80 on the scale, with paramedics 88% more likely to do so than physicians.
Across all occupations women were about 80% more likely to register above 80 on the scale, while those age 50 years and younger were 45% more likely to do so, they said.
"The pandemic has generated high levels of stress among workers," study co-author Dr. Sébastien Couarraze told UPI in an email.
"These levels have been particularly high for caregivers and in particular for paramedics," said Couarraze, an anesthesiologist at the University Hospital of Toulouse in France.
Previous research has documented high levels of on-the-job stress during the pandemic, even as many people worked from home.
Although healthcare professionals have been working at the "frontlines" of the pandemic, Couarraze and his colleagues said, treating patients with COVID-19, people in other occupations have said they are concerned that the related economic downturn threatens their job security.
This is particularly true in the United States compared with other wealthy countries, studies suggest.
For this study, Couarraze and his colleagues used data from COVISTRESS, an international questionnaire distributed online that has collected demographic and stress-related information during the pandemic.
They analyzed responses from more than 10,000 workers, including roughly 1,400 healthcare workers, 631 physicians and 748 paramedics who completed the survey from January to June 2020.
The higher effects of pandemic-related stress on younger, working age adults is likely explained by efforts designed to "ensure the protection of older populations," Couarraze said.
Based on their findings, continuing to monitor work-related stress, in particular among healthcare workers, is crucial for planning post-pandemic social services, the researchers said.
"It is necessary to integrate stress management or stress learning programs" into workplaces, Couarraze said.
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