CEOs getting an easy ride as work stress falls on junior staff

Middle management and junior staff starting their careers are under intense pressure in the workplace

•     One in five British workers report the most junior staff feel extreme pressure at work

•    91% of all UK workers believe the majority of workplace stress is falling on middle management

•      Almost half (43%) now report feeling under pressure at work

•     Nearly half (48%) have had their workload increase following redundancies at their company

•     Lane4’s Managing Director and Olympic gold medallist Adrian Moorhouse calls for business leaders to act now to ensure junior staff are equipped to cope with the pressure

91% of all UK workers believe the vast majority of workplace stress is falling on middle management, which is also filtering down to junior staff, reveals a new study from business performance consultants Lane4.

Almost half of workers (43%) now report feeling under pressure at work according to a study of 1,500 British employees. Middle management suffer the greatest stress levels, with two in five (39%) under severe stress.

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But worryingly, one in five (20%) reported that junior staff just starting their careers also felt extreme pressure.

Because of the current economic climate, over a third (34%) are desperately worried about their job security. As a result, nearly one in five (17%) workers feel they have also been given additional work, increasing their workload dramatically.

The study reveals that 48% of workers have had their workload increased following redundancies at their company.

Additionally, nearly a quarter (24%) of workers are taking on extra projects to assist colleagues who are struggling to cope with their workload.

Looking at individual departments, sales staff complained of higher stress levels, more than four times greater (19%) than those working in IT (6%).

Nationally, both a third of male and female employees had severe fears about their current job. But the survey of reveals that the most insecure region is the North West, with one in seven (16%) fearing they could lose their jobs, compared to only 3% of workers in East Anglia.

Commenting on the news, Lane4’s Managing Director and Olympic gold medallist, Adrian Moorhouse, comments, “It’s a leader’s job to ensure that all staff are able to cope in these tough times. If it’s junior staff that are feeling a large amount of pressure as revealed in the study, they must provide the tools and techniques to help develop resilience and success strategies. This will help them to thrive on the pressure, rather than crumble beneath it.”