Over half of workers surveyed globally lose sleep through worries about work

June 2009 – A recent poll by Monster has shown that 85% of workers suffer sleep related issues because of worries about work, with over half (52%) polled reporting disturbed sleep when they are job hunting. The results also found that stressful jobs cause nearly a quarter (23%) to have sleepless nights, whilst worries about job loss only affects the sleeping habits of 10% of respondents. A lucky 15% of polled workers stated that they did not lose sleep over work at all.
Monster Meter recently asked 36,004 workers across Europe, the US and Canada, “Why do you most often lose sleep over work?” The main findings are as follows:
I am trying to find a job – 52% (18,741 votes)
My job stresses me out – 23% (8,153 votes)
I do not lose sleep over work – 15% (5,370 votes)
I am worried about losing my job –10% (3,740 votes)
The results reveal that job hunting causes at least one quarter of workers across all regions surveyed to lose sleep. Workers in Spain suffer the most, with 81% reporting so. The same circumstances were also reported by workers in Denmark, Austria and Germany, following closely behind with 59%, 58% and 57% respectively.
Workers in Finland lose the most sleep through finding their job stressful, with over a third (35%) reporting so. In Belgium, 33% of workers and 32% in France and Luxembourg also reported that stress at work causes sleepless nights. Conversely, Spain was the least affected region with less than one in ten (8%) reporting a lack of sleep due to thinking their job was stressful. Denmark and Poland were amongst the regions to report the lowest levels of workers losing sleep due to stressful jobs, with only 18% of workers in each region reporting so.
The poll results showed that workers in Ireland lose the most sleep through being worried about losing their job, with 18% of workers stating this. Italy followed closely behind with 15%, whilst 11% of workers in both Finland and Germany reported sleepless nights over job loss worries.
Only 4% of respondents in Spain claimed that they do not lose sleep over work, whilst only 13% of respondents in the UK and Ireland also reported the same circumstances.
Over a third (36%) of workers in Poland reported that they do not lose sleep over their jobs, whilst Luxembourg and Belgium follow closely behind with 26% and 24% respectively. Twenty percent of workers in the Netherlands also reported that the prospect of losing their job does not affect their sleep, but instead worries about finding a job caused more sleep disruption (48%).
“It is worrying to see how many workers suffer disrupted sleep over work-related issues. Disturbed sleep can often cause teams to underperform. Workers may need to consider changing jobs in order to regain a healthy work-life balance. The Monster Web site also offers great life-coaching tools and advice on how to ensure that you are in the right job for you,” said Bernard Hensmans at Monster Monster.lu.. “Job seekers can also seek guidance on how to reduce stress while job hunting, along with tips on how to write CVs and prepare for interviews, making the overall process for job hunters easier.”