Top factors driving stress in the workplace

A new mental health report found that all Australians are suffering from work-related stress, with some influencers greater than others.

Headspace released its 5th Annual Workforce Attitudes Toward Mental Health Report, outlining how stress has risen dramatically in the past year.

According to the data, 38 per cent of Australian workers said they feel extremely stressed every day, compared to just 10 per cent last year. Every respondent claimed that work caused some level of stress.

While mental health has become a bigger focus for employers, more can be done to support burnt-out and stressed workers.

Russell Glass, chief executive of Headspace, commented: “There’s no more important action today’s CEOs can take than investing in the mental health of their teams. It’s not only the right thing to do – but it’s also beneficial to the bottom line.”

The top impactors on stress in the workplace were:

• Transition in their personal life, such as a relationship, moving, a new stage of life (29 per cent)
• Burnout due to increased workload or lack of staff (27 per cent)
• Poor management/leadership, conflict with co-workers, health concerns and poor work/life balance (25 per cent)

According to Headspace, there has been “a lot of positive progress in a short amount of time”. The pandemic forced workplaces to be agile and adaptive, which has reportedly paid off in terms of mental health support.

This is crucial as 95 per cent of CEOs and 92 per cent of employees said they are better at work when their mental health is supported. Employees are regularly taking advantage of mental health benefits.

Stress is an issue that has become more prevalent, however. According to the report, a big factor in this is the recent redundancies that have rocked some industries. The tech sector was one area that was hit hard, adding financial stress to the mix of workplace hazards.

Headspace noted that taking action to support individual wellbeing played a role in reducing stress. According to the data, 97 per cent of respondents took action to support their mental health, which in turn, reduced stress.

Another 33 per cent said they were hesitant to participate in mental health support programs due to stigma surrounding the issue. More knowledge and support discussing mental health could assist in reducing stress and turn this stigmatised problem around.

Managers can do their part by providing a safe space for workers. The report found that 36 per cent of employees said their boss enabled a toxic work environment. Leadership isn’t safe, though, as 34 per cent of CEOs and leaders said they dread work at least once a week. Just 5 per cent said they never dread work.