One in five Brits are suffering from unmanageable stress
Research from Cigna Europe has revealed that one in five Brits are suffering from unmanageable stress, with work and finances proving to be the nation’s most common stress triggers.
Identifying significant stress related issues within the workplace, personal health and well-being, the 2018 Cigna 360° Well-Being Survey shows that the UK is the most stressed nation in Europe, with the vast majority of Brits (80 per cent) currently suffering from stress, and over a quarter of those (28 per cent), declaring their work-related stress as being ‘unmanageable’.
Adding to the nation’s woes, the health insurance provider’s findings also rank the UK as more stressed than other nations by family and health issues, behind the likes of France, Germany and Spain. Three quarters of people reported that they don’t have enough time to spend with friends, only a third have time for hobbies and two thirds (67 per cent) complain they don’t get enough sleep at night.
Despite calls for workplace wellbeing solutions, the survey also shows that the UK is falling behind other Western markets in its development of wellbeing programmes, with less than one in 10 employees saying they have access to, and use, a workplace wellbeing programme. The research highlights that almost one in three employees rate stress management as the second-most-desired healthcare benefit in the UK, and half of us would like flexible leave, despite only 17 per cent of businesses offering this.
Phil Austin, CEO Cigna Europe, said: “From our research we can see that the majority of British workers feel stressed, yet only one in four of those who are stressed have spoken to a medical professional to relieve this as they either believe they are strong enough to handle it or they simply don’t think it’s useful. This is concerning and highlights the important role and duty of care employers have to play in supporting their staff to address this. Our research helps highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle and a good work/life balance, not to mention the impact on our stress, happiness levels and productivity at work.”
Austin continues: “We remain committed as ever in helping employers tackle this prevailing issue, and the latest enhancements to our self-referral pathway are centred around making it as easy as possible for employees to access emotional wellbeing support. Having the right support in place and early intervention can have significant positive impact on a prognosis, reduce the cost of treatment and help employees to return to work quickly. It’s important to us that our customers get fast access to the care they need, no matter what their emotional wellbeing concern is, and the addition of our new treatment options means we are offering the full spectrum of emotional wellbeing support.”
In partnership with Nuffield Health, the additional treatment options, embracing a full stepped care approach to emotional wellbeing have recently been introduced to Cigna customers. The two new additions - guided online therapy for mild to moderate symptoms and emotional wellbeing therapy for common emotional wellbeing conditions - aim to help reduce the number of people currently referred for more intrusive treatments and ensures the appropriate level of care.