Work stress: what fuels Italians’ malaise and with what symptoms

Problems with concentration, sadness, insomnia but also a sense of constant worry and muscle tension: these would be the main symptoms of work-related stress, an often underestimated problem.

This was revealed by a research conducted in February 2022 by Capterra. By interviewing 1,005 full-time and part-time workers who haven’t changed jobs since January 2020, the study wanted to investigate the issue of workers’ mental health analyzing how the situation has evolved since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic .

The health emergency, as we know, has in fact severely tested the mental balance of many people, leading to what has been called Pandemic Fatigue. A mental illness often experienced on several levels and which has affected in many cases also the working context.

The role of the pandemic

Taking into account the mental health of respondents in February 2022, the research highlighted how only 14% of the sample involved described their mental state as excellentwhile before the pandemic this percentage reached 22%.

The majority (40%) reported being in good mental health, while before the pandemic the figure was 50%. However, the most significant data that emerged concerns the number of employees who believe their mental health is precarious: in February 2022, the problem was about 11% of the interviewees, a fact that it was only close to 4% before the pandemic.

The health emergency has profoundly changed the way we work and the ability of workers to adapt to these changes has certainly evolved over time: however, it is undeniable that many have experienced difficulties in dealing with new situationsexperimenting in some cases also the so-called emotional burnout.

Symptoms of work-related stress

We know that stress at work can have negative psychological, physical and social consequences, but what are the more obvious symptoms?

Capterra’s research focused on the phenomenon of mental well-being, asking the interviewees involved how they viewed their current level of stress in the workplace. The study thus revealed a series of alarm bells relating to the level of work stress. When asked about symptoms experienced in relation to work, the 28% of respondents reported experiencing concentration problemsthe 26% feelings of sadness and, an equal percentage, sense of constant worry. Not only that: among the most common symptoms, there would also be insomnia problems (24%), problems with memory (20%) and lastly physical symptomssuch as dizziness, muscle tension or pain, stomach problems, chest pain or rapid heart ratereported by 19% of the respondents.