A recent survey from the American Psychological Association shows that the top factor that is accelerating work-related stress is low pay.
According to the findings from the work and wellbeing survey, 56% of employees said their low salary had a huge impact on their stress levels, which is up from the 49% stating the same thing in 2019.
Beyond low pay, 54% cited long hours and 52% said lack of career opportunities were a significant source of workplace stress.
Although companies have introduced new practices to prioritize employee wellbeing, one in three workers said if they could have one more work benefit, it would be increased pay.
If leaders do not address the source of this stress, employees are willing to quit. In fact, 40% stated they have plans to find a new job in the next year.
Even more, marginalized groups have faced the bulk of this impact, with women more likely to say that their employer needs to do better in treating all workers equally in terms of pay and flexibility.
“You can have lots of great programs around supporting employee mental health and connection, but if they don’t feel they have resources to adequately take care of their families, at end of day, you’ll have stressed employees,” said Vaile Wright, a clinical psychologist and the senior director of health-care innovation at the APA.
