Stress forces high-paid workers to quit rat race

(16/4/03) More and more people are prepared to quit their well-paid jobs because the stress is becoming unbearable, according to a report published today.

Twelve million Europeans, most in well-paid but high-stress jobs, are taking a cut in salary or working fewer hours, in an effort to relieve the strain of the workplace.

A further two million have given up the rat race completely.

“Many people in full-time jobs are increasingly looking to simplify their lives as they suffer from the mounting number of things they have to deal with daily," says Dominik Nosalik from Datamonitor who carried out the report.

"Too many demands on time, too much information and even too many choices leave many feeling burned out at the end of a day.

"This is leading some to reassess what really matters to them - is it to earn more and spend more, or to focus on family, relationships and other human and family values?”

The Datamonitor report cites exposure to the internet, emails and mobile telephones, as well as a greater awareness of terrorist attack, as factors in increasing stress levels.

Most people, of course, can’t afford to adjust their working lives.

But Hugh Robertson, UNISON’s head of health and safety believes employers certainly could help.

“The survey shows a number of things,” he says. “First that stress is a major issue throughout Europe, secondly that some people are putting their personal happiness above material gain, and thirdly that employers are not doing enough to combat stress or to introduce family friendly policies at work.”

Robertson says employers should introduce flexitime, child care arrangements, parental leave and other family friendly policies.

They should also take action to control workload and hours of work, prevent bullying and harassment and support their workforce,

“If employers do these things,” he says, “they can ensure that workers can stay in their job and still have a balanced family and social life.”

Over half a million people will have their physical or mental health damaged as a result of stress at work.

UNISON's revised booklet, Stress at Work - a guide for safety representatives, aims to give stewards and health and safety representatives all the information they need to combat stress in the workplace.

Download 'Stress at Work' in PDF format

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