Workplace stress impacts women more than men, with generally greater feelings of anxiety, fatigue, irritability, depression and insomnia.
Women and millennials are particularly interested in workplace programs to help them deal with their outsized feelings of stress and other negative emotions impacting their well-being, according to WebMD Health Services' 2020 Employee Well-Being Report.
"Our survey highlights the generational, gender and life-stage differences that can have a significant impact on the success of a workplace well-being strategy," says Christine Muldoon, vice president, strategy, WebMD Health Services. "Employees experience well-being in distinctly different ways depending on who they are, and what is happening in their lives–which we know can have a huge impact on how they show up at work."
Cascade Insights polled 2,000 U.S. workers at large companies and found that a majority (67 percent) of the female respondents feel somewhat to very high levels of stress, compared to 57 percent of the male respondents. Workplace stress impacts women more than men, with generally greater feelings of anxiety (47 percent vs. 34 percent), fatigue (46 percent vs. 45 percent), irritability (44 percent vs. 38 percent), insomnia (28 percent vs. 19 percent), frequent headaches (30 percent vs. 17 percent), and depression (25 percent vs. 22 percent), among other impacts.
Perhaps not surprisingly, young parents (both men and women) are stressed the most (76 percent), though for all generations, women with children express more stress, loneliness and isolation than men with children.
Moreover, 73 percent of men with children are satisfied with their physical well-being, compared with 49 percent of women with children. Likewise, nearly half of women report dissatisfaction with their financial well-being, compared with only 29 percent of men.
More women than men (40 percent vs. 33 percent) are interested in workplace stress management programs – though an equal percentage of both sexes actually utilize such programs, according to the survey. The most popular stress reduction programs for women include the ability to work from home, stress management, meditation sessions or classes, and a pet-friendly workplace; men are more likely to want recreational events.
Regarding generational differences, more than 70 percent of millennials report high or very high levels of stress, compared with 63 percent of GenXers and half of baby boomers. More than half of millennials experience significantly more of every workplace stress symptom except insomnia, than their older colleagues, including anxiety, fatigue and irritability.
Nearly 30 percent of millennials have frequent headaches, depression and experience forgetfulness. This could be why this generation is the most eager to take advantage of workplace benefits to reduce stress, according to the survey. More than half say they wish their employer allowed naps and provided free snacks/beverages; partial work from home (44 percent), fitness amenities (40 percent), and offered a pet-friendly workplace (40 percent). stress management programs (38 percent). meditation groups or classes (37 percent) and on-site health clinics (35 percent).
While millennials may be the most eager, the majority of workers across generations (87 percent) say that they would be at least somewhat likely to participate in employer well-being activities.
"The results underscore that workplace well-being programs have to be 'people-first' and deliver solutions that are relevant to the individual if they are going to make a difference to employees and produce meaningful results," Muldoon says. "Further, when programs deliver clinically-driven solutions focused on behavior change, each employee can be met where they are on their own health journey."
Other key findings include:
- Millennials are the only generation of the three to prioritize emotional and financial well-being over physical well-being.
- Millennials are more likely to prioritize environmental well-being/caring for the earth as an area of well-being; nearly half of millennials prioritize environment health compared with 40 percent of Gen Xers and 35 percent of boomers.
- The generations define emotional well-being differently: The majority of millennials define it as mindfulness and acceptance of emotions; Gen Xers and baby boomers define it as having gratitude and practicing positivity.
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Katie Kuehner-Hebert
Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a freelance writer based in Running Springs, Calif. She has more than three decades of journalism experience, with particular expertise in employee benefits and other human resource topics.
