Workplace Wellness Is So Low, Even Researchers Are Surprised
By the end of the day, if you’re feeling mentally fatigued, physically tired (even though you skipped the gym), and left with too many items still on your to-do list, then you’re not alone. According to a new study, Americans are overworked and leave the office physically and mentally exhausted.
The nonpartisan RAND Corporation published a report on work conditions Monday, and their findings revealed that America is a nation of hard workers who have too little time and spend their days in unhealthy, and sometimes hazardous, environments.
Most people, roughly three-fourths, reported performing repetitive or intense physical tasks for a quarter of their time at work. While non-college graduates, who might have more laborious jobs, reported having more physical demands at their jobs, college graduates, older adults and women weren’t excluded. In fact, 55 percent of workers in this country reported having unpleasant and even dangerous working conditions, such as exposure to machinery vibrations, loud noise, extreme temperatures and exposure to fumes or chemicals.
However, there’s much more than the physical attributes that make an office or work site unhealthy. About one in five people have experienced verbal abuse, sexual attention, or behavior that was deemed humiliating within the past month. In a year’s time, the same number of workers have experienced bullying, harassment, or sexual harassment.
Unsurprisingly, gender plays a role in determining the type of harassment people experience. In a single month, 12 percent of women encountered verbal abuse and threats, 8 percent were humiliated by another colleague’s behavior, and 5 percent received unwanted sexual advances. Men, on the other hand, received more verbal abuse and threats in a month (13 percent of respondents), followed by humiliating behavior (10 percent of workers), and unwanted sexual attention (only 1 percent of the group).
But it’s not all bickering and toxic environments among colleagues. According to the report, many find the workplace a source of support. More than half said they made good friends at work, and roughly 95 percent of workers said their bosses were helpful, provided useful feedback, encouraged and supported personal development, gave praise, assisted with collaboration or showed their respect and trust.
It's been long documented that work can take a toll on our health. Another study Monday revealed that having a bad job can be more emotionally taxing than being unemployed, and past studies have shown that sitting all day, like most office workers, increases your risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Still, researchers were surprised to find exactly how unhealthy working can be.
"I was surprised how taxing the workplace appears to be, both for less-educated and for more-educated workers," said lead study author Nicole Maestas, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and an adjunct economist at RAND, in a statement. "Work is taxing at the office and it's taxing when it spills out of the workplace into people's family lives."
Data for the survey was collected from more than 3,000 adults across the United States in 2015.