It is a reality that working life can generate significant loads of stress in people, which can end up affecting their quality of life. For this reason, more and more people pay attention to their mental health and situations like this. In many countries, stress is considered one of the occupational diseases, and the data on these are alarming, according to the World Labor Organization, about 7,500 people a day lose their lives1,000 of these cases are due to occupational accidents and close to 6,500 for occupational diseases.
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And it is that Colombian workers should pay special attention to this issue, since Colombia is located at the top of the ranking of countries with more people suffering from work stress.
“The percentage of employees by region who said they felt extremely, very, or somewhat stressed on a daily basis is: Globally (50%), Latin America (56%) and Colombia (57%)” according to the firm Mercer-Marsh. In addition, 54% of people surveyed said they are less likely to leave the company that provides mental health support in comparison and only 34% do not.
Why does work stress occur?
Ana Maria Herazo, Director at Talengo, a global executive search and leadership consulting firm, andexplains job stress as a fear responsecoordinated to protect us against the dangers of our environment, its main causes are: a very high workload, little independence and autonomy in the tasks designed for the positionsalary not in accordance with the responsibilities, lack of communication between co-workers, injustice or lack of respect, mismatch between the workplace and personal values, and one of the most important is work pressure.
Some people thrive under pressure and do their best work with a looming deadline, others find these kinds of challenges very stressful, thus taking a toll on their mental health.
“Over time, job stress leads to physical and mental health problems, as well as negatively affecting work productivity., company culture, and an organization’s ability to meet its objectives. This makes employees more prone to errors, poor job performance, mental health issues, burnout, and conflict.”, Herazo says.
It is worth noting that, if work stress is not addressed in a timely manner, organizations are the ones who will bear its cost, due to the value that turnover, disconnection and absenteeism entail, since productivity depends on the time management skills of employees and their ability to focus on the task at hand.
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Unfortunately, stressed employees can’t meet deadlines and use their creativity. Also, it can trigger other mental health issues that affect work productivity, including burnout, anxiety, depression, and conflict.
