HRE’s number of the day: soaring stress levels


76: Percentage of workers who describe themselves as currently stressed

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What it means for HR leaders

The data is the latest to point to a troubling trend of mental health issues among employees, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rates of burnout, stress, depression and anxiety are up exponentially in the wake of the ongoing pandemic, and research indicates that employee mental health issues are only worsening as the pandemic approaches the one-year mark.

“Levels of stress are absolutely astronomical,” Arianna Huffington, CEO of Thrive Global, a wellness company that focuses on behavior change technology, said recently during a webinar. “HR doesn’t have to convince the C-suite that this is a problem.”

Related: Mental health numbers ‘going in the wrong direction’

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“In 2021 and beyond, there is no doubt that stress management will play an increasingly important role in the overall success of organizations in all sectors and industries,” the Grokker report found.

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Kathryn Mayer
Kathryn Mayer is HRE’s former benefits editor and chair of the Health & Benefits Leadership Conference. She has covered benefits for the better part of a decade, and her stories have won multiple awards, including a Jesse H. Neal Award and honors from the American Society of Business Publication Editors and the National Federation of Press Women. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Denver.