Stressed at Work? Survey Shows Europeans Have It Worse
12 Juillet 2006 - 4:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
Kelly Services World@Work Survey measures workers' stress pulse
TROY, Mich., July 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Think the American
workplace is stressful? Be glad you're not in Europe, a comparison
of recent survey data by Kelly Services suggests. Among thousands
of respondents in the first-ever Kelly Services World@Work Survey,
11.7 percent described their work as "extremely stressful."
However, when the issue of stress was addressed in a Kelly Services
Europe@Work Survey, a total of 27.1 percent of European respondents
reported that their work was "far too stressful" or "too stressful"
- more than double the percentage of U.S. respondents. "Workplace
stress can be viewed in both a positive and negative light," said
Carl Camden, President and CEO of Kelly Services, one of the
world's leading staffing solutions organizations. "Many workers
seek challenge in their jobs, and stress can be seen as a positive
factor indicating important and responsible tasks. However,
workplace stress can also be associated with a demanding boss, lack
of personal control, fatigue and poor relationships with workplace
colleagues. What we can hope for is a balance, so that our work can
be stimulating and challenging without leading to worry and
overwhelming pressure." Despite the feelings of the group who are
extremely stressed, American workers generally seem to be able to
keep stress from getting out of hand. Altogether, 25.6 percent of
respondents - 30.6 percent of the men and 23.7 percent of the women
- described their work as "somewhat stressful but manageable,"
while 34.3 percent said theirs was "stressful at times but not
always." And then there are the lucky ones - the 18.6 percent who
say their workplace is "rarely stressful" and 5.2 percent who say
theirs is "not stressful." The survey also suggests a strong
association between workload and stress. Of those who described
their current workload as "heavier than you prefer," more than
one-third (38.4 percent) also said their work was "extremely
stressful." Among those who described their current workload as
"lighter than you prefer" or "about right," a large proportion
(38.7 percent and 23.8 percent, respectively) said their work was
"rarely stressful" or "not stressful." Long hours also appear to
turn up the stress levels. More than one-third (35.4 percent) of
those who are on the job 50 or more hours a week said their work
was "extremely stressful," compared with only 15.6 percent of those
who work 41 to 50 hours. At the other extreme, large numbers of
those who worked 40 hours or less a week said their work was
"rarely stressful" or "not stressful" - 32.9 percent of those
working up to 30 hours and 28.9 percent of those working 31 to 40
hours. "The traditionally strong American work ethic seems to be
alive and well, but with more hours on the job comes additional
responsibility and increasing levels of stress," said Camden.
"However, it's also notable that about a quarter of the working
population feels only negligible on-the-job stress and most
American workers seem to be finding a way to strike a manageable
life- work balance." Kelly Services World@Work Survey focuses on
several aspects of working life and results will be published
throughout 2006 of current findings. About Kelly Services Kelly
Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYANASDAQ:KELYB) is a Fortune 500 company
headquartered in Troy, Mich., offering staffing solutions that
include temporary staffing services, staff leasing, outsourcing,
vendor on-site and full-time placement. Kelly operates in 30
countries and territories. Kelly provides employment to more than
700,000 employees annually, with skills including office services,
accounting, engineering, information technology, law, science,
marketing, light industrial, education, health care and home care.
Revenue in 2005 was $5.3 billion. Visit
http://www.kellyservices.com/ . DATASOURCE: Kelly Services, Inc.
CONTACT: Media, Renee Walker of Kelly Services, Inc.,
+1-248-244-5362, or ; or Matt Barkett of Dix & Eaton for Kelly
Services, +1-216-241-3073 Web site: http://www.kellyservices.com/
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