Against the backdrop of a Ministry of Manpower
(MOM) report which adversely highlighted Singapore's slowing economic growth,
weak investment returns, and negative employment market prospects, lies a
bigger problem – that work-related stress is still Singapore's number one
silent killer.
While MOM
tries to alleviate growing fears, the reality is that many businesses will
either cease to exist, downsize, or relocate elsewhere in the coming years.
Reassurances from MOM to help those displaced re-enter the employment market is
falling on deaf ears with retrenchment predicted to remain high in PMET sectors
and in companies trying to keep afloat in areas of weak demand.
The
workforce is unfortunately the real victims who are becoming, if not already,
disenfranchised, marginalised, disillusioned, and reaching burnout. For
Singaporeans trying to hedge their bets and prepare for the inevitable, it has
created in its wake a new talent market trend of giggers, pluralists, and
portfolio workers.
Temporary
placements (contractors) are rising faster than permanent hires, lured by
lucrative benefits, flexibility, and mobility. For companies this trend offers
workers who are "fit for purpose," filling a short-term market gap.
Then
there is FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Endless work events (onsite and offsite)
and social commitments create a sense of guilt, dread, and fear by pushing
already exhausted workers to their limit.
While
low-level stress can be productive and motivational in some cases, long-term or
chronic stress is counterproductive and is linked to cardio-vascular disease,
depression, anxiety, and even suicides. Having to balance the daily grind of
job and family responsibilities is taking its toll on millenials.
Research
provided by Regus recently highlighted that stress levels in the Asia Pacific
region are rising with 66% of workers in Hong Kong, 63% in Malaysia, and 55% in
Singapore claiming to be more stressed. In 2013, a JobStreet survey reported
that 60% of respondents in Singapore attributed work-related stress to mental
fatigue, depression, and poor quality of life. While sick leave remains
relatively low, it is inescapable that mental fatigue affects productivity
levels, focus, and quality of work.
Dr. Lim
Boon Leng, a psychiatrist at Gleneagles Medical Centre, recently issued a stark
warning to Singaporeans not to take work-related stress lightly. Referring to
the Asian work ethic and mindset, he highlighted that many Singaporeans define
themselves by their work and find it difficult to unwind outside of the
workplace even while on vacation. Many try to cope with the situation by
working longer hours to catch up with work-related matters which in itself
aggravates the situation.
In 2014,
the Health Behaviour Surveillance of Singapore (HBSS) by the Health Promotion
Board (HPB) reported that 24% of Singaporeans and permanent residents aged
18-69 reported high stress levels – an increase of 6% from 2012. This has
increased year on year since.
It is not
surprising that psychologists and healthcare professionals in Singapore are
red-flagging work-related stress. While there was no significant difference by
gender, the survey however highlighted that younger employees were more
stressed than their older colleagues. Can this be indicative of higher stress
levels per se or that older employees take stress in their stride and are less
vocal?
Dr.
Shyamala Thilagaratnam, Director of the Preventive Health Programmes Division,
said, "One of the practices workplaces can adopt to reduce corporate stress
levels is to distribute stress management resources at team meetings or at
group sessions."
"Encouraging
companies to provide platforms such as peer support, helplines, or face-to-face
counseling for employees to talk about their work problems also helps. Doing so
may provide new insights and solutions to problems that they are facing,
alleviating employee stress," she added.
Dr.
Rajeshree Parekh, Asia Pacific Director for Health and Wellness at Towers
Watson, agrees that the mental, physical, and emotional health of the worker
can severely impact the health of the company as well. Dr. Parekh highlighted
that stress is a complex, multi-faceted issue – the cause of which cannot be
attributed to one factor alone.
"Stress
isn't only created in the workplace, it may come from issues at home, health
problems, and financial issues," she said. "But given the amount of
time we spend at work and the pressure this places on us, it has a big
impact."
In
identifying workplace stressors, there appears to be disparaging examples cited
by employers and employees. While employers cite declining productivity levels
as the main cause of workplace stress, employees on the other hand cite poor
work-life balance, conflicting job expectations, lack of equipment or technology
to do the job, inadequate staffing, and no down-time as key stressors. (2013
Towers Watson Global Benefits Attitude Survey)
"Ultimately
workplace stress is an individual issue. Workers need to build up resilience to
the pressure caused by work through finding healthy ways to manage this. This
may come naturally to some, but to most in the workplace, it is a learnt
ability," added Dr. Parekh.
Growing
concerns are also being echoed elsewhere demonstrating that this phenomenon is
not confined to South East Asia alone. In Japan, its Labour Ministry has
officially recognised "Karoshi" (Karo means "overwork"
while shi means "death") and linked it to an increase in
cardio-vascular disease and suicides. In the USA, 44% of its working population
claimed that work-related stress disrupted their sleeping habits to the
detriment of mental and physical health.
In a
survey by CareerBuilder, many reported that they became less productive, lacked
focus, became depressed, had memory loss, made frequent mistakes at work, and
even dozed off at work. This phenomenon is mirrored in France, China, and
London to the point that many organisations are tackling this issue by
subsidising gym membership for staff, extending lunch breaks, having onsite
holistic therapists, games, and rest areas and a budget for ergonomic workplace
assessments and equipment.
Perhaps
Singaporeans need to re-frame their mantra from "Live to work" to
"Work to live" and place a higher value on their mental, emotional,
physical, and spiritual health.
By
Jennifer Rahman
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