Stress study by the Techniker Krankenkasse “Relax, Germany“
In June and July of 2016, conducting this study, the opinion research institute Forsa questioned 1.200 German-speaking people of age 18 and above about their stress load and their relaxing strategies in their everyday life, free time and job.
Learning to cope with stress: Stress is a fixed element of today’s meritocracy. And especially those who achieve a lot feel particularly stressed. The digital transformation as the most radical change of society creates new forms of interaction between human beings and machines and opens up great chances but it also turned many processes and practices topsy-turvy within just a few years.
Work load, hectic, noise – that is stressing Germany’s working people. But what exactly is causing the stress at work? The most frequent reason for stress at work is too much work. Obviously, there is an imbalance between the work load and the time available for it. About two thirds of the working population think that their work load is too much and therefore a burden. This is not only a serious discovery concerning stress. It does also have negative consequences for the quality of the work: how hardly manages to complete his or her daily to-do-list, is usually lacking time for creative thinking or strategic thoughts. Instead of keeping an eye on the overall picture, employees get tangled in the trivialities. It is not surprising that this causes stress. The positions two and three in the ranking of the top stressors in the job go in a similar direction. Time pressure and hurrying are stressing six out of ten professionals, every second person is also annoyed by interruptions and disturbances. No wonder, when there is not enough time anyway to satisfy all the requirements.
Leadership and communication: one out of five people has conflicts with an executive. The matter of communication is also causing a lot of stress. It starts with the information flooding into working life mainly by E-Mail significantly enhancing the stress level. Unclear orders and instructions are considered onerous as well. Roughly 40 percent respectively see these as the cause of their strain. But not only too much communication can be a problem, so can also be a lack of it: a lack of appreciation of their achievements is stressing 39 percent of professionals. Almost as many are affected by a lack of financial gratification. About three out of ten working persons are stressed by a limited scope of action, it burdens almost as many to have to be accessible in their free time and on holiday. Furthermore, a bad mood in the team is a cause of stress for about 30 percent. 20 percent complain about problems with executives. About a quarter of the working population names difficulties concerning the compatibility of job and family as a stress factor.
