| UK workers are among the least stressed in Europe, a survey has suggested.
Just 20% of British workers found their workplace 'too stressful' compared with an average of 27% across Europe.
Switzerland and Sweden suffered the highest levels of anxiety in their job (33%), the survey by global recruitment agency Kelly Services found.
The poll of 19,000 people across 12 countries also found that male workers, older staff and those in steady jobs were under the greatest pressure.
'A certain amount of stress is inevitable and can be a good thing when it pushes people beyond their comfort zone to work harder and smarter,' said Steve Girdler, marketing director of Kelly Services UK.
'But high levels of prolonged stress are not good because they impact on productivity and are associated with physical and emotional illness,' he warned.
The group also found stress increased significantly with age - rising from 19% in the 15-24 age bracket to 23% for those aged 45 and above.
The report suggested these workers could also be suffering from added stress at home and increased responsibility.
Those working the longest hours found their job the most stressful - 18% for those working 30 hours or less, 34% for those clocking on for 41-50 hours, and 50% for those working longer than 51 hours.
Kelly Services also uncovered a close link between stress and job satisfaction.
For those workers who said they faced too much stress, just 28% were happy in their jobs, while for those with 'just the right amount of stress' happiness levels jumped to 65%.
The findings suggest staff enjoy jobs where they face challenges that push them to 'learn new skills'.
最近一项调查结果显示，英国员工面临的工作压力在整个欧洲属于最小之列。
27%的欧洲人认为工作压力很大，和这个平均数据相比，只有20%的英国人觉得自己的工作压力大。
全球人力顾问公司Kelly Services的调查发现，瑞士和瑞典员工在工作中感受到焦虑不安的比例最多，达到33%。
这项对12个国家的1.9万人次进行的调查还显示男员工、老员工和工作稳定的员工通常面临的工作压力最大。
“工作有一定压力是不可避免的，如果压力能够让员工在习以为常的舒适环境中更加努力工作、工作得更漂亮的话，有压力就是件好事。”Kelly Services英国市场行销经理史蒂夫·格德勒说。
“不过，如果长期压力过大，反而会适得其反，因为这样难免会影响生产效率，导致生理和心理方面的疾病。”他提醒说。
调查小组同时还发现，压力随着年龄的增长而显著增加。在15到24岁的员工中，只有19%的员工感到工作压力大，而45岁和45岁以上的员工中则有23%的人有这样的感觉。
报告指出，这些员工同时面临来自家庭的压力，肩上的责任也越来越大。
工作时间最长的人觉得他们的工作压力最大，每周工作30个小时或不到30个小时的员工，只有18%感到工作压力大，而每周工作41到50小时的员工中有34%有这样的感觉，每周工作时间超过51小时的员工中这个数字达到50%。
Kelly Services还揭示了压力和工作满意度之间有着密切联系。
那些认为自己工作压力太大的员工中，只有28%的人认为自己的工作很快乐，而在那些'工作压力适度'的员工中，快乐指数一下子升高到65%。
调查发现员工喜欢那些具有挑战性、能促进自己“学到新技术”的工作。 |
