Workplace stress globally has hit an all-time high. The annual “State of the Global Workplace” report from Gallup for 2022 has been published. The findings are a cause of worry for employers who are looking to stem the flow of resignations.
The annual report on global employee engagement was conducted in 2021 and released earlier this month.
Watch Now: State of the Global Workplace 2022
Among workers surveyed by Gallup, 60% reported feeling ’emotionally detached’ while at work, and 19% consistently feel ‘miserable.’ They are actively disengaged at work. Only 21% employees reported being engaged at work.
The global employee engagement and wellbeing remain stable but not great. Engagement rose by a mere 1% from 2020 to 2021, but it was still down from its peak in 2019.
There has been a significant decline in the overall well-being of workers in South Asia and Europe: Only 11% of workers in South Asia and 47% in Europe say their overall life quality is “thriving.”
44% employees reported having experienced a lot of stress the previous day.
Gallup asked workers if they experienced stress, worry, anger, or sadness at work the previous day. The tracking lines for worry, anger, and sadness all dropped slightly from last year’s pandemic-influenced highs, but they were still higher than every other year since the study started in 2009.
Stress, however, continued its climb, jumping to 44 percent, compared to 43 percent last year and the five previous years when it hovered between 39 percent and 37 percent.
Employees who routinely experience high levels of burnout at work say their job makes it difficult to fulfil family obligations.
This annual report represents the collective voice of the global employees. There have been several disruptions to work and life in the last couple of years.
The immediate future is not looking too bright either.
There have been numerous warnings from business leaders and the World Bank about a recession in 2022. Add to this an increasing flow of hiring freeze and mass layoffs across the globe, both at MNCs and start-ups.
Some prominent businesses such as Tesla have been vocally against remote work and coming from an influential figure like Elon Musk, this lends support to businesses not willing to explore the possibilities of remote work.
As employees seek more flexibility, this further adds to stress and low engagement. Organizations need to make some serious attempts at driving engagement at work.
The report suggests adding employee wellbeing measurements to executive dashboards. Organizations need to prioritize employee wellbeing as part of their employer brand promise.
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