Based on a recent Qualtrics’ survey, most of the senior Singaporeans aged 55 and older are susceptible to experiencing the highest levels of stress, while the younger staff aged 35 to 44 can also experience work-related forms of stress.
The stress levels among the workforce within the 35-44 age group became apparent once they accepted or were given higher positions or more senior roles with bigger responsibilities, increased quotas, and management duties, according to the report.
The report called, “State of Play: Employee Experience in Singapore,” about 6,000 full-time workers globally were part of the survey, involving a significant Singaporean population.
As per the specific-industry analysis, amongst the most-stressed were retail workers, with public sector personnel coming second. The financial services and IT and technology sectors were at the median level of stress. The report cited the least stressed in the workforce were those in the healthcare and manufacturing sectors.
Looking at the overall scenario among the countries surveyed, Singapore showed the lowest job satisfaction levels where 24% of the participants cited they were either extremely or somewhat dissatisfied.
Also, Singaporean workers experienced the lowest work-related stress levels. About 22% of the staff noted they ‘always’ or ‘most of the time’ feel stressed or being overwhelmed by their assigned tasks.
On average, many countries have a global percentage of stress at 27%. The most stressful workers are found in countries such as Australia, the UK, and the US at 29%.
In another report, when asked what could possibly be the main reasons of increasing stress levels in the workplace, most Singaporean CFOs noted rising workloads (56%), higher business expectations (54%), tighter deadlines (40%) and a competitive business environment (38%).
Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, Robert Half Singapore’s managing director, cited Singapore has global recognition for business excellence as most financial executives are moving in a highly competitive workplace.
He cited for senior executives working long hours, increased workloads, shortened deadlines, and high business expectations can be very stressful among the Singaporean workforce.
He added it is necessary that the city-state’s management recognise the increasing stress levels within their organisations and proactively address them to minimise their implication to the workers as a whole.
The managing director said stress drains not only the employee’s wellbeing but also the whole company. Workers, especially senior executives, who may be burned out or chronically frustrated and stressed, are more susceptible to getting an illness and potential absenteeism.
He stressed having obvious signs of dwindling morale can negatively affect business productivity and ultimately the company’s goals and objectives.