Stress at Work Remains High

By Chuck Martin

People at work are constantly under the gun and need to take a breather.

Based on a new survey of senior executives and managers nationwide, four-fifths are stressed, with a third saying they are highly stressed.

And the stress does not appear to be going away. "Stress is now greater than I can remember, in my 30 years of work history," said one survey respondent.

Almost a third of the survey respondents cited number of hours worked as a cause of stress, while more than a third cited expectations. "The 40-hour work week is a myth for most managers," said one manager. "It is an expected that we work 50 to 60 hours to get the job done, and a large number of things still don't get completed because of unrealistic expectations."

"The biggest cause of stress is the unrealistic expectations in the volume of work," said another. "Not that long ago, extra time at the office would get you ahead. Now, extra time is needed just to keep your head."

The top causes of stress for the majority of executives and managers are, in order: deadlines, interruptions, conflicting responsibilities, expectations and email overload.

Several respondents cited internal workplace issues, such as management issues and office politics, as a cause of stress.

"One of the major stressors is the excruciatingly slow planning, communication and execution of strategy by top management," said one manager. "Regular stress is good, it keeps you on edge," said another. "However, bureaucratic stress is very difficult to deal with. It exists between the towers if they are allowed to continue."

Yet another respondent had this to say: "The vast majority of my stress comes from the gamesmanship of my peers. Too often, serving our customers comes after serving our own desire for power, recognition or simply job avoidance."

Some respondents said their cause of stress is essentially self-imposed. "To be honest, much of the stress I experience is due to my taking on more projects and responsibilities, believing that they can be done, and on time," said one. "And they almost always are, but with extra effort and time. But I seem to thrive on it."

A certain amount of stress at work can keep people energized and focused on critical tasks. However, with the current stress levels, more executives and managers might find themselves too pressured to keep sight of what really matters, and that is not likely to be good for business.

Chuck Martin is a syndicated columnist and best-selling business book author who lectures around the world. His latest books include Tough Management (McGraw-Hill) and the just-published business fable Coffee at Luna’s.

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