Stress is killing South Africa’s most valuable asset
Health insurance agency Profmed has reported that the high cost of living and the unreliable electricity supply are the leading causes of stress for working professionals in South Africa.
Profmed’s CEO, Craig Comrie, said it is essential to understand what is causing professionals the most stress and how they deal with it because they are the most valuable asset to improve the economy and unemployment.
Recent data from Profmed’s Stress Index measured for the last seven years, compiled annually, the responses of over 1,500 of the company’s professional membership base – providing a barometer for stress levels in the country.
The report considered the perspectives of doctors, medical specialists and employees in the legal, built environment and accounting sectors. Profmed said that compared to years before, the latest index indicates a spike in the number of highly stressed professionals.
The 2022 index showed that 31,90% of the sampling pool feel highly stressed while 12.52% are extremely stressed. While the 2021 stress index revealed that 26,0% of professionals are highly stressed and 11.11% are extremely stressed.
“Some of the results could have been anticipated,” said Comrie. “I am sure this will not come as a surprise to South Africa. The high inflation rates and cost of living crises dominate mainstream media almost daily, and more than that, we are all experiencing these effects in real-time.”
“In the last few years, there has been a significant year-on-year increase regarding how many of our members are feeling highly stressed. This is leading to long-term mental health conditions with a growing proportion of members needing long-term chronic treatment,” Comrie added.
Half of the respondents (50%) indicated that stress affects them emotionally and mentally, while 32.70% said it affects them physically.
Comrie said that it is necessary to understand stress as it can have the following effects:
- Critical health complications such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
- Mental health-related complications like depression or anxiety.
Regarding how respondents deal with stress, 11% indicated that they speak to a professional, a significant increase from last year’s 3% – 26% of respondents see a person face to face.
The main way professionals manage stress is through exercise, with hiking and running rising to the top at 44 and 24%, respectively. While 19% of respondents selected biking and 12% selected golf.
Concerning taking time off work, 32% of the surveyed respondents said that they had taken a week off in the last three months, 16% in the last six and 22% in the last year.
One of the most positive changes mentioned by respondents, according to Comrie, is the adoption of a better work-life balance to which many said it improved their stress levels.
“An astounding 59.92% of the professionals felt this question was “not applicable” to them and probably means they are back at the office. 14.31% said their work-life balance had not improved at all,” said the CEO.
Although every person is built to handle stress differently, Comrie strongly said that everyone should take note of their stress levels and understand that there are numerous ways to seek help if you are struggling to cope.
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