One in five workers stressed

ONE in three of us are working longer hours than we did five years ago and half of us believe our stress levels have increased, a survey has revealed.

Only one in five are working fewer hours than we used to, according to the study.

But it is younger rather than older people who are suffering more from the increase in work pressure.

The survey, released by the VHI to coincide with Work-Life Balance Day today, found that one in five workers are seriously stressed out. But it is people already unhappy with their work-life balance who are more likely to find work stressful.

About 11% in this group had higher than average stress levels.

And it is not a gender issue because the increase in stress is equally spread between men and women.

One in five of the 660 people questioned by Behaviour and Attitudes said they worked for more than 50 hours a week. Almost 25% worked up to 34 hours a week, while one in four worked between 35 and 39 hours.

And people living in rural areas have a longer working day than people in Dublin.

The study found that the average commute for workers is about 42 minutes, with the time varying significantly between city and rural dwellers.

The average commute time in Dublin was 55 minutes, while it was 30 minutes for those in rural areas.

Four out of 10 people living in Dublin spent more than 40 minutes commuting every day, compared with the 20-minute commute by 40% of rural dwellers.

However, despite the fact that we are working longer hours, commuting further and seeing our stress levels increase, we remain content with our lot. Almost a third said they were highly satisfied with their life and the average satisfaction score was nearly eight out of 10.

While people were “highly satisfied” with their family lives, personal relationships and general state of their health they were less happy with their work, social and sex life.

Just four out of 10 said they were very or extremely happy with their work-life balance, while 11% said they were not very or not at all satisfied.

And those experiencing the most difficulty with achieving a balance between work and home are those in their 40s working in urban locations.

Advice on how to reduce stress and improve work life balance is available on the VHI’s website at www.vhi.ie.