Think that hybrid work arrangement is better for your stress levels? According to a recent survey, it’s not.
A well-being report recently released by insurance company Cigna Singapore shows that 86% of Singaporeans are stressed – including 94% of hybrid workers.
On top of that, Singapore’s stress levels are well above the global average, with 15% struggling to cope with the pressure.
So what are we stressed about, really?
Money, money, money
The top stressors in the country are the rising cost of living (50%), uncertainty about the future (38%), personal finance (35%) and family finance (22%).
Most of the reasons are related to economic stability. which really highlights the severe burden that money problems exert on people’s minds.
The survey also included an index that tracks the evolution of well-being in five aspects: work, family, social, physical and financial.
Singapore came out on the rough end, scoring worse than other APAC countries and those around the world, with only 20% confident about their current financial situation. The study, also showed that women, single individuals and the unemployed have the poorest financial well-being.
That hybrid life
That hybrid work arrangement that almost everyone in the workforce has embraced was initially designed to offer flexibility and work-life balance but the survey also surprisingly revealed that it was also causing higher levels of stress.
In fact, those working in the hybrid model are most likely to feel stressed, citing working outside their normal hours at least once a week as a huge reason why.
Most can agree that, while working from home has saved everyone a lot of time and money from not having to commute, it has also added a lot of other stressors like no set working times, lack of personal contact and over-reliance on technology.
Burnout is real
One thing that is worrying is that prolonged stress can lead to burnout and the effects are already happening now. The survey showed that 95% of respondents in Singapore said they are burned out, with a fraction of that percentage saying they also feel constant self-doubt.
Burnout also affects mindsets about work. More than a third (35%) of those who took the survey had changed jobs in the past year and another 34% are looking for a job change in the next year.
Because of this, 54% of respondents are also willing to retire earlier – albeit with lesser money in the bank – just to enjoy life and be happy.
Perhaps something Singaporean employers can take note of is that only 20% of respondents claim to have a comprehensive healthcare plan from their employers – that’s much lower than the APAC average of 27%. Also, while 43% say that their working location or hours are flexible, flexible time off is now less common.
Well, based on that, it seems like our accolade of being the most fatigued country in the region is here to stay.
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