Take a look at some very worrying statistics on stress in the workplace:

• 52% of executives will die of diseases related to stress, as stress effects nearly every major system in our bodies according to Tyne.
•  The New England Journal of Medicine in 1998 declared that “managing the long-term effects of the physiological responses to stress is critical to survival.” Stress may contribute to 85% of all medical problems.
• A US government health white paper “Saving lives” published in 1999, warns that people in stressful jobs with either very high demands or very little control over their work are more likely to suffer heart disease. It sights a long running study of civil servants which shows that women in high demand low control jobs are 70% more likely to develop coronary disease than women in high control jobs. Men in high demand low control jobs are 50% more likely to develop heart problems than their counterparts in high control jobs.
• 55% of full-time employees say that work-related stress makes them ill-tempered at home, according to Carol Hymovitz article in WSJ Career Journal
• More than 1million workers in the UK & Ireland say their managers are so over worked that they don’t really have time to manage their staff.

People suffering from high levels of stress generally have a number of symptoms including but not limited to:- chronic fatigues, anger at those making demands, negativity and irritablity, a sense of being besieged and a hair trigger display of emotions. A wide range of behaviours some destructive frequently accompany these emotions. Highly stressed managers and workers inappropriately vent anger at subordinates and co workers, and quite often the negative emotions associated with stress will spill over into their home life.

In the UK and Ireland the average work week is approx 4 hours longer than the EU average but the average productivity is 25% lower.

Work like balance is not anti work, in fact having a healthy work life balance increases your productivity.

Putting in long hours is not the badge of honor it once was. Are these long hours really worth it?

What are you doing to create the work life balance you desire?

- Statistics and information courtesy of the “Rescue Institute”