New technologies, productivity pressure and too much responsibility – this is the dark trio that now burdens every second employee in Germany. At least that's one of the findings of an international study by Headspace, a digital mental health platform. The study examines the causes of stress and burnout in the workplace, in Germany around 100 managing directors and 1000 employees were surveyed.
Ursula Kals
Editor in the economy, responsible for "Youth writes".
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According to the study, around one in three employees feels extremely high psychological pressure at work every day. Above all, the behavior of managers can have a negative impact on the health of workers. In a country comparison with the United States, England and Australia, the burden of an unhealthy amount of work specified by management is even highest in Germany.
In addition, according to the study, German employees suffer the most from a toxic work culture of top management. This goes so far that 59 percent of Germans are afraid of work at least once a week. The very thought of it triggers this feeling. Almost one in five feels this fear every day. What is particularly stressful is the fear of having to take on even more responsibility. This was expressed by 47 percent of respondents. Closely followed by the feeling of lack of stability.
People are worried about technology
What exacerbates the situation are innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence. The fear of losing their job or being severely affected by it plagues 39 percent. When asked about stressful issues outside of the workplace, 30 percent say they are concerned about their health. So much so, in fact, that 29 percent fear burnout due to increased workload and a lack of staff. Anyone who thinks that family mitigates this will be disillusioned: Responsibility for one's own children lands in third place among the biggest stress makers.
All of this has consequences. Namely, the much-cited "quiet quitting", i.e. the decision not to work overtime or overtime, but only to do the bare minimum within the contractually agreed working hours. 24 percent of those surveyed in Germany simply work through their tasks. In the United States, only 8 percent of workers say they are not particularly engaged.
Corona, war and economic crises affect millennials (30 percent), i.e. those born between 1980 and 1996, more than the successor generation Z, which copes better with the multiple crisis experiences. Their ability to cope with constant change seems far higher. Here, only 21 percent say they feel more psychologically stressed compared to the previous year. More than half, 53 percent, say they feel much better in 2023 than they did in 2022.
Allegedly, 94 percent of executives are now more open about their mental health. With 27 percent of employees admitting that they still feel uncomfortable with it and wish their superiors didn't talk about their mental health. The baby boomer generation feels particularly uncomfortable with it, half of them find this openness unpleasant. Quite different from the following generations: Generation Z (83 percent) and Millennials (79 percent) welcome openness.