Office workers are stressed

A Online survey with 586 participants commissioned by Unia shows: Work-related stress is very common in office-related service professions and often has negative effects on the physical and mental health of employees. As a result, many feel unmotivated, exhausted, nervous and irritable, or physically ailing. As the main reasons for stress, many cite time and performance pressure, overlong workdays and working in their free time.

The most important results at a glance

• In office-related service occupations, a clear majority of employees (69.8%) feel they are exposed to stress at work and have difficulty setting boundaries even in their free time.
• Work-related stress has a negative impact on physical and mental health: many employees feel unmotivated, drained, nervous and irritable or physically ailing due to stress.
• In half of the companies, health management and stress prevention are not an issue.
• Labor law standards such as timekeeping, overtime compensation, etc. are not consistently met.
• Work-related stress can be prevented by a company culture that promotes health: In companies that address stress, employees are less susceptible.

Stress costs everyone dearly

Stress and the resulting illnesses not only cause human suffering, but also cost employers 5.7 billion Fr. in health-related productivity losses per year (Job Stress Index 2016). Unia therefore denounces the fact that it is precisely in the service industries that the concrete protective provisions are to be undermined by recording working hours and regulating working and rest times.

The Labor Code serves the protection of employees

The Labor Code requires employers to take all necessary measures to protect both the physical and mental health of employees. This includes avoiding excessive stress and organizing work appropriately. Particularly in a service society, psychosocial stress and stress-related illnesses are increasing rapidly; this is also indicated by the high values for stress perception from the Unia survey.

Expansion instead of dismantling of health protection
Unia is therefore calling for health protection to be expanded rather than reduced. Specifically, for example, the labor law should be effectively enforced and controls strengthened. Unia is also calling for health protection and working time policy to be strengthened in collective labor agreements, the guarantee of participation rights in companies, and improvements in new forms of work. Also, the labor law should not be worsened.

Source: Unia