(WHSC/CALM) More than one in four Canadian workers say their daily lives are highly stressful, according to a recently published Statistics Canada study. More than 60 per cent of these stressed-out workers reported work as the main source of stress.
Additional findings from the Statistics Canada study are found in an article entitled “What’s stressing the stressed? Main sources of stress among workers.” For instance, more than 60 percent of highly stressed workers describe their mental health as less than good. Almost half reported their physical health is less than good.
As outlined in the Workers Health & Safety Centre’s Work Stress: burnt out, fed up and fighting back, stressed workers are suffering a range of mental health impacts including irritability, anxiety and depression. And more and more research suggests stress contributes to a significant percent of all illnesses ranging from the common cold and musculoskeletal disorders to heart disease and cancer.
Another recently published report, Tracking the Perfect Legal Storm: Converging systems create mounting pressure to create the psychologically safe workplace, warns employers that “A perfect legal storm is brewing in the area of mental health protection at work. This storm brings with it a rising tide of liability for employers in connection with failure to provide or maintain a psychologically safe workplace.”