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ONE IN FOUR CANADIANS HAS
LEFT A JOB DUE TO STRESS
Many working professionals are likely to experience stress at some
point in their career, but for some, there is a breaking point. A re-cent
survey from Monster Canada found that one in four working
Canadians has left a job due to stress and 17 per cent have consid-ered
it. Overall, 58 per cent of working Canadians say that they
are overworked.
“Working Canadians are under a lot of pressure on the job
– this, coupled with personal commitments and a desire to ad-vance
professionally, may be creating a heightened sense of stress
at work,” said Angela Payne, general manager for Monster Canada.
“For employers, this can lead to a worrying combination of de-creased
productivity and reduced staff retention.”
Earn less, more stress
The survey, conducted by Leger, also found that Canadians earn-ing
less than $40K are the most likely to say they’ve left a job due
to stress (38 per cent). Those in the next earning bracket, $40K to
$59K, have also said goodbye to an employer due to overwhelm-ing
job stress (27 per cent).
“For those starting out in their careers, saying yes to opportunities
can be second nature. But the work can add up fast, which may im-pact
stress levels,” said Payne. “These findings suggest that employers
should consider focusing more retention efforts on employees mak-ing
under $40K since they may be prone to excessive job stress.”
“WORKING CANADIANS
ARE UNDER A LOT OF
PRESSURE ON THE JOB
– THIS, COUPLED WITH
PERSONAL COMMITMENTS
AND A DESIRE TO ADVANCE
PROFESSIONALLY, MAY BE
CREATING A HEIGHTENED
SENSE OF STRESS AT WORK.”
– ANGELA PAYNE, MONSTER CANADA
Balancing work and life
Despite the many working Canadians who report feeling over-worked,
nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) agree that their employer
supports work-life balance. Those with children under 18 are more
likely to indicate their employers support work-life balance (71 per
cent with children under 18, compared to 61 per cent without).
The data also indicates that Canadians who have left work due
to stress are significantly more likely to disagree that their employ-er
supports work-life balance.
“While employers support and offer work-life balance initia-tives
to their staff, employees may not feel encouraged to take
advantage of them,” said Payne. “Establishing and growing rela-tionships
between managers and workers can help ensure that the
most suitable programs are being offered and used.”
Carrying the workload
When asked what the most stressful part of their job is, nearly
one-third of Canadians indicated workload – being overworked.
“As we know, stress comes in all shapes and sizes at work,” said
Payne. “To avoid the possibility of employees seeking greener pas-tures
elsewhere, when possible, employers should consider taking
steps to establish more sustainable workloads for employees, and
consider employee engagement programs that keep motivation
high during busy times.”
HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ SEPTEMBER 2017 ❚ 9