Who is under the most pressure?
In its latest study, we looked at stress levels in the office. Results based on 359 respondents show that real estate professionals are the most pressured, while technology specialists enjoy a more nurturing work environment. Perceptions also vary wildly across countries, with German workers reporting the worst work environment of the surveyed countries.
The percentages in the tables below show the number of respondents who answered 'Yes' to each question. The pressure score is the average percentage for these three questions.
Pressure at work - By Industry
| Industry | Does your boss invade your personal time? | Has the amount of work you are doing ever made you physically ill? | Have you ever felt bullied at work? | Pressure Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apps, Web, eCommerce | 13% | 29% | 43% | 28% |
| 2 | Technology & Telecoms | 15% | 43% | 33% | 31% |
| 3 | Public sector | 30% | 33% | 44% | 36% |
| 4 | Retail | 33% | 50% | 30% | 38% |
| 5 | Insurance | 27% | 54% | 38% | 40% |
| 6 | Transportation | 20% | 60% | 40% | 40% |
| 7 | Services, Tourism, Restaurants | 33% | 50% | 38% | 40% |
| 8 | Consulting | 33% | 46% | 43% | 41% |
| 9 | Consumer Goods | 25% | 50% | 50% | 42% |
| 10 | Charity | 57% | 29% | 43% | 43% |
| 11 | Energy, Mining, Chemicals, Environmental | 25% | 58% | 50% | 44% |
| 12 | Pharmaceuticals & Biotech | 33% | 36% | 64% | 44% |
| 13 | Financial Services | 38% | 52% | 46% | 45% |
| 14 | Healthcare | 43% | 67% | 29% | 46% |
| 15 | Manufacturing | 27% | 57% | 57% | 47% |
| 16 | Media | 30% | 67% | 78% | 58% |
| 17 | Construction & Real Estate | 71% | 83% | 67% | 74% |
Think different: Fewer than 20% of employees working for technology or web companies say managers do not respect their personal time. Unsurprising, as these companies are culturally very focused on their employees' well-being.
The construction nightmare : More than two thirds of construction and real estate employees report having been bullied at work, and 83% have worked until becoming ill. The industry seems to have a long road ahead if it wishes to retain and recruit millennials who take well-being at work into consideration, much more so than their elders.
Pressure at work - By Country
| Country | Does your boss invade your personal time? | Has the amount of work you are doing ever made you physically ill? | Have you ever felt bullied at work? | Pressure Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 9% | 36% | 43% | 29% |
| 2 | Canada | 20% | 40% | 40% | 33% |
| 3 | Switzerland | 18% | 36% | 45% | 33% |
| 4 | Singapore | 44% | 42% | 35% | 40% |
| 5 | Spain | 47% | 38% | 38% | 41% |
| 6 | UK | 32% | 48% | 47% | 42% |
| 7 | Italy | 38% | 50% | 50% | 46% |
| 8 | Hong Kong | 25% | 82% | 45% | 51% |
| 9 | Australia | 60% | 40% | 60% | 53% |
| 10 | Ireland | 42% | 62% | 59% | 54% |
| 11 | USA | 46% | 76% | 58% | 60% |
| 12 | Germany | 64% | 67% | 67% | 66% |
La vie est belle: France has the lowest pressure score of all countries, mostly thanks to a strong separation between personal and work time (only 9% of employees say their boss invade their personal time), emphasised recently by the newly introduced 'right to disconnect' bill.
Efficiency takes its toll: While Germany is often praised for being the strongest economy in the EU, our study shows that success comes at a cost : two thirds of German employees have worked until becoming ill and report having been bullied at work.
Pressure at work - By Gender
| Gender | Does your boss invade your personal time? | Has the amount of work you are doing ever made you physically ill? | Have you ever felt bullied at work? | Pressure Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | 43% | 57% | 57% | 52% |
| Men | 30% | 48% | 41% | 40% |
Tougher working conditions for women? On all three questions in our surveys, women report poorer working conditions than men : a majority of them say their work has made them ill at some point and that they have been bullied at work compared to under 50% for men.
Alice Leguay, CMO & Co-Founder at Emolument.com said: 'While transparency on company and sector performance when it comes to well-being at work is not widely available, standards are likely to improve thanks to pressure from millennials, especially in industries where they are most ubiquitous such as technology. Other industries will have to play catch up if they want to retain their competitive advantage.'
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