99Are We Overstressed?
Stress appears to be a major factor
in the lives of many Canadians. A
recent survey conducted by Statistics
Canada found that Canadians expe-
rience a great deal of stress, with
those from Quebec topping the list.^3
The survey also found that women
were more stressed than men. The
inset Stress Across the Country,
2001–2002reports the findings.
For employees, stress is also a fact
of life—and it continues to increase
over time. Recent research conducted
at the University of Montreal found
that of the 12 job categories exam-
ined, including unskilled white- and
blue-collar employees and semi-
skilled blue-collar employees, only
upper-level managers reported no
increase in stress levels from 1987 to
1998.^4 A 2001 survey done by Ipsos-
Reid of 1500 Canadians with
employer-sponsored health care
plans found that 62 percent reported
experiencing “a great deal of stress
on the job.” Workplace stress was
bad enough to cause 34 percent of
those surveyed to say that it had
made them physically ill.^5 In a 2000
Statistics Canada survey, one-third of
employees blamed long hours or
overwork for their stress, while
15 percent blamed “poor inter-
personal relations,” and 13 percent
blamed risk of accident or injury.^6
Front-line employees are not the
only members of the organization
who experience stress, however. In a
study conducted by researchers
Darren Larose and Bernadette Schell
at Ontario’s Laurentian University,
88 percent of the executives surveyed
indicated elevated levels of stress
and/or unhealthy personality traits.^7
They also had higher levels of pre-
disposition to serious illnesses such
as cancer and heart disease.
Perhaps one of the biggest problems
for employees is that they are increas-
ingly asked to donate labour to their
employers, according to Professor
Linda Duxbury of Carleton University’s
Sprott School of Business and Professor
Chris Higgins of the Richard Ivey
School of Business at the University of
Western Ontario. Their survey of 31 571
Canadians found that in the previous
month half of them had worked an
extra 2.5 days of unpaid overtime, and
more than half had donated 3.5 days
of working at home to catch up.^8
Canadians are frequently reporting that
they want more balance in their work
and family lives.^9The Most Stressful Jobs
How do jobs rate in terms of stress?
The inset The Most Stressful Jobsshows
how selected occupations ranked in
an evaluation of 250 jobs. Among
the criteria used in the rankings were
overtime, quotas, deadlines, com-
petitiveness, physical demands, envi-
ronmental conditions, hazards
encountered, initiative required,
stamina required, win-lose situations,
and working in the public eye.
Stress is not something that can be
ignored in the workplace. A 2005 poll
by Ipsos-Reid found that 66 percent
of the CEOs surveyed said that “stress,
burnout or other physical and men-
tal health issues” have a negative effecton productivity.^10 A 2001 study con-
ducted in 15 developed countries
found that individuals who report that
they are stressed in their jobs are 25
percent more likely to quit and 25 per-
cent more likely to miss days of
work.^11 Canadian, French, and
Swedish employees reported the high-
est stress levels. In Canada, 41 percent
of employees noted that they “often”
or “always” experience stress at work,
while only 31 percent of employees
in Denmark and Switzerland reported
stress levels this high. “In the wake of
years of fiscal downsizing, workers
across all sectors are working harder
and longer than ever while trying to
balance family responsibilities,” said
Scott Morris, former head of the
Vancouver-based consulting firm
Priority Management Systems.^12
Daniel Ondrack, a professor at the
University of Toronto’s Joseph L.
Rotman School of Management, notes
that “one of the major reasons for
absenteeism is the logistical problems
workers face in just getting to work,
including transporting children to
school and finding daycare. Single par-
ents, especially female, have to juggle
all the daycare and family responsi-
bilities, and that makes it extremely
difficult for people to keep up with
work demands.”^13Region % with no life stresses % with quite a lot of stress
Alberta 9.8 26.0
Atlantic Canada 14.6 18.7
British Columbia 12.0 23.6
Ontario 10.7 25.7
The Prairies 8.7 24.5
Quebec 18.0 30.0Source:Compiled using data from Statistics Canada, “Life Stress, by Sex, Household
Population Aged 18 and Over, Canada, Provinces, Territories, Health Regions and Peer
Groups, 2000/01,” http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/00503/tables/html/
2336.htm (accessed August 4, 2005).Stress Across the Country, 2001–2002