A survey has found that just under three quarters of women are suffering from the effects of stress, and are at risk of burnout.
In a survey carried out by Cosmopolitan, 71 per cent of women reported that they had suffered an anxiety or panic attack.
40 per cent of respondents also claimed that they had sought medical help because of anxiety or stress.
Overall, 750 women were surveyed. Over half said that they had become obsessed with work, even when they are not actually at work, with many checking their work emails on a daily basis outside of work hours.
There was also a general report of negativity in the respondents’ lives, and a dissatisfaction with life.
“In the past, burnout happened in jobs that involved working with people – occupations such as teaching, social work or nursing – but now it has expanded beyond the caring professions,” so said Sir Cary Cooper, a professor of organisational psychology and health.
“The pace of life, work overload, job insecurity and increasingly high expectations of us mean more and more people are becoming burnt out.”
As technology has entered out lives, it seems to have put us in a position in which we are constantly at risk and where more is demanded and expected of us in the work place. With long hours and an unrelenting workload, it is no wonder that people are suffering and even having to seek medical help to cope with daily stresses.
Of course, there are ways to reduce the amount of stress that the individual suffers, with stress management techniques like mindfulness, and retreats training people to internally look after their wellbeing, but in the grander scheme of things, it begs the question as to how we can live in a society which can only run if its members are pushed to the brink and burnt out.
