Well-Being Mental Health

US workers lead the world in daily stress, worry: report

u.s. united states north america canada worker employee stress worry highest world global gallup pandemic remote engagement increase young older retirement
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Story at a glance

  • Employees in the U.S. and Canada have topped global lists for the most stressed workers.
  • Despite these figures, employee engagement has improved, possibly thanks to remote work.
  • Researchers note management can alleviate some stress through support and meaningful feedback.

U.S. workers are among the most worried and stressed employees in the world, according to new data accumulated by Gallup.

Captured in the survey company’s State of the Global Workplace: 2021 Report, employees across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean were polled about their life at work, including growth opportunities, emotions during the workday and disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While each region scored differently across each category, U.S. workers stand out in terms of daily stress and worry, taking spots one and two, respectively, out of all other global regions for experiencing the highest volumes of daily stress and worry. 

Workers across the world broadly felt the same, with 43 percent of all workers worldwide reporting feeling “a lot” of stress during their workday. 

“Globally, Gallup’s World Poll found substantial increases in daily stress, worry, sadness and anger among workers employed for an employer during 2020,” researchers wrote. “But the U.S. and Canada topped the list on stress.”


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Interestingly, this coincided with an increase in employee engagement for U.S. and Canadian workers. 

Researchers attribute this to another benefit of remote work.

“Gallup’s research has shown that remote worker engagement can exceed that of in-office workers when managers communicate with them frequently and effectively,” the report summary reads

Still, there is room for improvement with employee engagement in the U.S., as just 1 in 3 U.S. employees feel engaged at work.

American women were also more likely to experience higher daily stress than their male counterparts. Sixty-two percent of women reported feeling higher stress levels during the previous workday, compared with 52 percent of male workers. 

This is a reflection of another global trend. Gallup writes that in addition to professional duties, women also tend to carry more of the burden related to child care and household management that adds work to daily life. 

Younger employees also felt more stress as opposed to older ones. Sixty-four percent of workers under the age of 40 in the U.S. reported feeling high amounts of stress during the day, whereas 51 percent of workers over 40 agreed. 

There are a bevy of explanations for this: Younger workers tend to be less established and may have younger children to care for, as well as burgeoning finances that depend on their employment.

Older workers, by contrast, are more likely to have a stronger financial foundation, as well as experiences of professional crises prior to the COVID-19-induced recession. 

Retirement among older workers also grew during the pandemic, as some faced layoffs and furloughs over the course of 2020. Previous data revealed accelerated retirements among the Baby Boomer generation — Americans born between 1946 and 1964.

An additional 3.2 million U.S. workers in this age bracket, roughly 56 to 74 as of 2020, opted to retire amid the pandemic. This is the largest number of retirements since 2015, per Pew Research data. 

Gallup notes that an antidote to stress and worry among employees is better engagement, which is usually centered around leadership giving greater support and helpful feedback to their employees. 

The report also notes that remote work has been optimal for most employees, and most don’t want to go back to pre-pandemic office norms and prefer a hybrid model.

“Employers are in a position to greatly enhance the lives of their people — and they have a responsibility to do so,” the report concludes. “Creating a low-burnout, high-performance culture of engagement and wellbeing creates healthy, profitable, and sustainable organizations.”


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