Domestic Issues More Stressful than Work for Almost Seven in Ten

Everyday domestic life is more stressful than work pressures for 68% of the nation’s workers, according to new research into the causes of stress.

The research, by YouGov for Croner, asked 2770 employees to rank ‘stress triggers’ in both their work and personal lives.

Financial worries (voted by 27%), relationship problems (15%) and achieving work/life balance (12%) are to blame for the most stress. Workplace factors including workload, long hours, pay, and even a long commute were only considered the most stressful by a combined minority of 25%. The remaining 7% blame other factors or do not get stressed.

However, when quizzed further about the workplace, only 14% said they don’t get stressed at work. A heavy workload was voted as the most stressful by 24% of respondents, followed by poor working relationships (14%), working long hours (12%), and pay and benefits (12%).

Croner is reminding employers of their legal responsibilities to proactively minimise the risk of workplace stress and warning them that failure to do so could lead to compensation claims.

Gillian Dowling, employment technical consultant at Croner, says: “Although workplace factors feature lower down our stress trigger league, stress is still a big issue for employers who must treat it as they would any other workplace health hazard."

“Responsible employers should be able to spot physical signs of stress, but what the survey results show is that domestic issues can significantly contribute to the problem. This can make it difficult for employers to identify the root cause of suspected stress and to decide whether they should take action.”

Gillian finds that employers are often concerned about their legal requirements and how to manage workplace risks to employees when it comes to stress. She says: “These statistics show that there can be a fine line in knowing whether workplace factors are causing an employee stress, or whether factors at home could be making it harder for an employee to cope with a normal amount of workplace pressure."

“We therefore advise our clients of a few golden rules to remember. All businesses should take a proactive approach to stress issues and review the risks to their employees. But it is fair for the employer to assume that the employee can cope with a normal amount of pressure at work - employers are not required to ‘pry’ into an employee’s personal life."

Croner is providing the following stress management advice to employers: