Regardless of how fulfilling work can be, too much of it can lead to burnout. But what is the best way to balance the toil of career and the satisfaction derived from everything else in life? Obviously, the answer to that question is decided by each individual, but according to a recent survey, many Americans might be struggling to find their equilibrium.
This July, deals and coupons company, GroupOn, conducted a survey of 2,000 individuals through market research firm OnePoll.com, asking respondents a series of questions on how hard they work, whether they are stressed, how high their stress levels are, what stresses them out and what they do to relax. The results – for example, 60% of Americans have an unhealthy work-life balance – show that finding calm and reducing tension are easier said than done.
Working Too Hard?
Almost 1,200 of the 2,000 surveyed said they did not get enough time to relax in their current life routines. That does not sound like a healthy trend. Also, nearly 46% of respondents said that they never have time to relax while more than 38% said they work too many hours.
On the work-time front, the average number of hours respondents said they worked was about nine per day. About 20% of all said they worked an average of 10 hours a day. Nearly 60% of the total group said there simply are not enough hours in the day to do what the must do.
Workload seems to be the most pressing issue standing in the way of a healthy work-life balance for more than 50% of all surveyed. Another issue, said 53% of respondents, were financial worries; and the issue the highest number of respondents said that what kept them from optimum life balance was general weariness, at 56%.
Stress
GroupOn’s survey also asked folks about stress. Of the 2,000 in the group, most pegged their stress levels while at home at around 5 (out of 10, with 10 being the highest level). At work, the average was about 6.4. The day of the week that is most stressful? Respondents, as you might expect, said Monday. I guess Bob Geldoff and the Boomtown Rats are not alone in disliking Mondays. Mondays aside, more than 38% of respondents said no particular day caused them greater stress than others.
GroupOn also asked what times of the day are most stressful while at work. To this, the largest number that felt a certain time caused them more anxiety than others chose the hours between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., though the average stress time was around 1:30 p.m. But, the highest number of respondents (more than 34%) said there was no particular hour that was worse than another.
When asked when they last felt completely relaxed and stress-free, 40.5% of respondents said it had been at a time six months ago or longer. That was by far the most popular response.
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Gender
Of all 2,000 respondents, nearly 70% were women. Some notable differences in the way they responded included the question of whether they had time to relax. Women, at more than 50%, were more likely to feel they had no time to do so, compared to almost 35% of men.
Also, home chores were more likely to be an impediment to relaxation among women than men, at 50% versus 27%. And women were more likely to be stressed due to tiredness, at 61%, while looking after family members caused about 12% more stress among women than men. That might explain why women were also more likely to feel more stress at home than men were.
Stress Relief
During a typical year, respondents to GroupOn’s survey said they use between 11 and 12 vacation days on average. At the same time, they said that about six of those days are spent doing things around the house, looking after family and pets, and running errands and going to appointments. Are those likely to be activities that provide stress-relief on days off? When asked how they would ideally like to spend a free day, the highest number respondents said they would love to spend time at the beach. Not a bad choice, indeed.
