Stress: Is America Working too Hard?

According to a recently published survey by the American Psychological Association (APA), 52% of Americans are “concerned about their current levels of stress,” and one in three are regularly reporting “extreme” feelings of pressure and tension. These statistics are both alarming and troublesome, as they have exhibited steady increases over the past five years. As seen in the chart on the right, the leading causes of stress are work (74%) and money (73%). The strong value associated with productivity and financial gains in America is taking its toll on both businesses and employees, who are incurring large expenses and adverse health effects because of high levels of performance related anxiety. The American Institute of Stress indicated that businesses are losing 300 billion dollars a year due to excess stress in the workplace. The large cost is contributed to employee “accidents, absenteeism, turnover, diminished productivity, direct medical, legal, and insurance costs, and workers’ compensation awards as well as tort and FELA judgments.” A special report completed by WebMd, showed that stress is also manifesting itself as physical symptoms, with 43% of adults suffering from health conditions such as “headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma, or arthritis in addition to depression and anxiety.” These health effects have led to greater medical care utilization, with 75 to 90 percent of doctor visits attributable to “stress-related ailments and complaints.” The merit-based system employed in the U.S. economy has taken a large toll on our nation’s health, where as alternative approaches emphasized in Europe may result in a more balanced lifestyle and improve our country’s health and happiness. Although, European countries such as France show lower rates of productivity, the slower work pace has shown positive impacts on people’s quality of life and America may want to consider adopting European methods of regulating the labor market in order to reduce the amount of work-related stress and greater need for medical care.

Although the APA study indicated that 82% of Americans believe that they are able to deal with stress well, they all report feeling the stress. While some survey respondents are able to use positive coping strategies such as exercise, listening to music, and reading to relax themselves, a large number rely on negative techniques including unhealthy eating habits, alcohol and drug consumption, and spending an excessive amount of time watching television and surfing the net. In addition, over 70% of the survey responses indicated people are experiencing “physical and psychological symptoms” due to stress. As shown in the exhibit to the left, a large number of people described feeling bodily symptoms such as fatigue and headaches. Almost half said they remained awake in bed at night due to stress. Mental effects due to tension were also prevalent and included “experiencing irritability or anger (50%)” and “feeling nervous (45%)”. Even though Americans are showing negative effects from stress, many of them stated that they would not make an effort to change unless they were internally motivated or encouraged by others to do so. Therefore, the imposition of regulations on the maximum number of hours’ people can work and employee assistance programs, like those utilized in France, may give people the needed push or incentive to reduce stress and prevent future health concerns.

The American Psychological Association points out that major causes of stress are work and money, and therefore recommends that companies help their employees improve their well being by offering “flexible schedules, providing assistance with childcare, helping employees with personal financial issues, and providing flexible leave options beyond those mandated by law.” The director of APA, Russ Newman, warned that there are signs of escalating problems with employees’ work-life balance. With advanced digital technology such as online messaging and blackberries, people are being held responsible to respond promptly even after work hours, which can invade employees’ personal time with family and friends. The APA study revealed, “the leading sources of stress at work are low salaries (44 percent); heavy work load (41 percent); lack of opportunities for advancement (40 percent); uncertain job expectations (40 percent); and long hours (39 percent).” Americans are confirming the fact that they need a greater amount of personal time to focus on their health and reduce stress by engaging in activities like exercise, meditation, sleep, and time with family and friends. This lesson may be learned from European countries like France, who place a higher priority on lifestyle.

One study revealed that “Americans aged 15 to 64, on a per-person basis, work up to 50 percent more than their European counterparts”. In terms of work culture, Europeans generally have more time off and a slower paced lifestyle than Americans. In France, businesses are required by law to have a maximum of 35 hours of work per week and a minimum of five weeks of vacation. This is in sharp contrast to the 80-hour work week the U.S. recently implemented for new doctors. The European regulations allow for more personal time and help decrease negative health effects caused by stress at work. Although productivity is needed to make a society function, it is obvious that America needs to re-evaluate the stress imposed on individuals by their jobs and financial compensation. Preventative care must be taken seriously and is an undeniably important part of medical care. Employers must learn how to create a proper work-life balance, which allows people to take care of themselves and reduce healthcare needs. The government and employers must realize the importance of keeping America’s working class healthy and happy if they want to continue to have a highly productive society.