WORKING
Thursday, October 19, 2006; Page D02
Stressed Out
Our stress levels are rising and instead of pointing fingers at our boss or the demands of business, we're increasingly blaming the chap in the next cubicle.
Altogether, 55 percent of workers say their stress levels are high and they feel out of control or fatigued by work, according to a new ComPsych StressPulse survey of 1,000 employees. ComPsych runs employee health-related services.
People issues were the biggest cause of workplace stress. ComPsych says that means workers who annoy, dump on, compete with or otherwise add strain to colleagues. Those headaches are bigger than those brought on by huge workloads or by trying to find work-life balance, both issues cited by about 25 percent of those surveyed.
Forty percent of workers say stress costs them an hour or more a day in lost productivity; almost as many say it takes 15 to 30 minutes of their work day.
Workers also cope by taking time off -- 20 percent said they miss six or more days a year because of workplace worries. More people say they take days off for stress or relationship issues than because of the flu or other illness. That's sure to stress out some bosses.
-- Vickie Elmer
