Wednesday, May 15, 2024 Who Is Stressed? According to Statistics Canada, one in five (21.2 percent) of employed Canadians report feeling high levels, or very high levels, of work-related stress Guide Magazine Those numbers go up when you look at the healthcare and social assistance sector, where 27.3 percent of workers report high levels of work-related stress. Women are also more likely than men to experience high levels of work-related stress (22.7 percent versus 19.7 percent). In healthcare/social assistance, the number of workers experiencing stress due to workload was much higher than the average worker (32.3 percent versus 23.7 percent), as was the stress experienced due to emotional load (21.4 percent versus 11.7 percent). Within industries, stress varied by gender. Women in education were more likely to experience work-related stress than men (27 versus 19.6 percent). But in construction, men were more likely to experience stress than women (17.2 percent versus 12.6 percent). Stress leads to both absenteeism and presenteeism (showing up to work but not being productive). When asked, 7.5 percent of workers reported missing work for a stress-related reason in the past year. The cost to the Canadian economy is staggering, with billions of dollars in lost productivity plus billions more in medical costs. 5 Top Causes of Stress Heavy workloads Difficulty balancing work and personal life Emotional load Long hours Compensation You might be interested in Why We Work Safely 5 Jun 2026 Standing Your Ground, and Staying Steady on the Job 4 Jun 2026 CLAC Partners with Alberta Government to Advance Skilled Trades Training and Accelerate Certification 4 Jun 2026 Strathcona Mechanical Workers Ratify New Agreement Providing Wage, Scheduling Improvements 3 Jun 2026