Excessive workloads and lack of communication is increasing workplace stress

UK office workers are under a tremendous amount of stress, and much of it is directly related to the way their work is being managed. That is the conclusion of a report by Workfront, which finds that office workers are becoming frustrated and burned out by poor work tools, processes, and communication. Four out of five office workers confessed that they feel burnt out and 73 percent expect their stress levels at work to increase in the near future. Nearly three quarters (74 percent) admit to feeling unrecognised and un-useful at work. With lack of communication and not knowing what others are working on (37 percent) cited as the number-one pain point across the board for stressed UK workers, it’s clear that businesses need to break down current silos, allowing people to engage more freely with senior staff members and see how their efforts impact the wider team. The study found that poor communication and visibility into work is UK workers’ number-one pain point in terms of work stress. It also reveals that 42 percent of office workers put in more than 6 hours of overtime per week and that 7 out of 10 office workers expect their stress levels at work to increase into the future.

According to the report, workers claimed the three main causes of stress are:

• Excessive workloads and competing deadlines (60 percent)
• Lack of communication and visibility into the work done by others on your team (57 percent)
• Poor access to appropriate resources and information needed to complete work (37 percent)

Although people do appreciate stress-relieving perks, what they really want is for their employer to address the source of the problem. When asked how they would like their employer to remedy their stress, the top three reasons workers chose were:

• Structures and tools to enable a good support system (60 percent)
• More involvement in decision-making and more frequent contact with management (57 percent)
• Professional training on how to productively structure their day (37 percent)

You can view the full report below:

Workfront Stress Report.pdf