A survey conducted by Seesam Insurance has revealed that the workers most affected by the coronavirus pandemic have been those in the 35-54 age bracket, of whom more than 70% have suffered from work-related stress in the last 12 months. “The unrelenting fatigue, negativity and inability to concentrate that come with job stress are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Seesam Marketing Manager Tiia Prööm.

“The results of our ‘well-being at work’ survey very clearly show who’s suffered most in the pandemic,” Prööm explained. “They’re most likely to be the key figure in their company – the manager, say, or the entrepreneur behind the business – who’s in the prime of their professional life and lives in one of Estonia’s bigger cities. They’re the people it fell to at the peak of the pandemic to make quick and hard decisions.”

Labouring under severe stress
The respondents in the 35-54 age group remarked that job stress most commonly manifests itself in constant tiredness, negative thinking and difficulties focussing. “In the most extreme cases, the stress they were facing meant that they started avoiding clients and colleagues and didn’t want to go to work in the morning,” said Prööm. “That’s a sign that they’re plagued by severe stress.”

This tendency is all the more worrying for the fact that one out of every 10 workers affected by stress does nothing to alleviate it because they have no idea where to begin. Almost the same number pay no attention to signs of stress because they have resigned themselves to the fact that it is part and parcel of their work and of the responsibility that comes with it. Compared to other age brackets, there were 50% more people aged 35-44 and 45-54 who use food additives with a calming or sleep-promoting effect to reduce their stress.

Employers can provide support
According to Prööm, the survey shows that workers suffering from stress have a number of suggestions of ways in which their employers could provide more support to them in regard to their health than they are currently doing. People in the age bracket of the most exhausted employees primarily said that they expected their employers to cover the costs of sport and exercise and to provide them with health insurance enabling them, for example, to more quickly get in to see a specialist and providing better access to rehabilitation services and preventive health checks.

Close to a fifth of the people in this age group would be grateful if they had a lighter workload, while the same number again underscored the importance of management being prepared to talk about health issues and provide emotional support. “Money’s not always the most important thing,” Prööm said. “People want recognition, they want to feel that those around them genuinely care about them and their health.”