Endless meetings, serial emails, uncooperative colleagues… Nearly 9 out of 10 executives (87%) say they are stressed at work, according to the fourth edition of Ifop’s Professional Mental Load Barometer for the start-up Mooncard, published this Thursday, June 29. Bad news: the trend is not down. The figure was also 87% in 2022, and 88% in 2021.
In detail, 7% of executives say they are “very often stressed” and 29% “quite often”. But they are not all equal in the face of these anxieties. The study identified several aggravating factors, with telework at the top of the list. Executives who practice it regularly are more likely to feel stressed (90%) than those who never use it (78%). “Telework creates a dissolution of the boundary between professional life and personal life”, explains to L’Express Claire Schroeder, director of human resources at Mooncard. “This leads to longer working days and a feeling of never ‘cutting’, which can increase stress.” Telework also promotes isolation, while “when you have difficulties, it is easier to discuss with your peers rather than to solve the problem alone”, continues Claire Schroeder.
Gender is another determining factor. 92% of women say they are stressed at work, compared to only 85% of men. “Women carry a great mental burden, because they are often the ones who manage domestic chores”, notes Claire Schroeder. This personal stress can affect their professional activity and reinforce the anxiety experienced in the office.
Rising wages, a solution to deal with the mental load?
All of these factors combined, executives are particularly prone to work-related mental workload. It is defined by Mooncard as “the psychological clutter caused by professional concerns, including outside working hours”. It was measured using several questions on the impact of career on private life. As a result, many executives reported a feeling of “not getting out of it”. Their mental workload is measured at 4.7, i.e. 0.2 points more than in 2022. It is on the rise among women, Ile-de-France residents and those over 35 years old.
To reduce it, the frames are full of ideas. Starting with a pay rise. 39% of them believe that it would be a good solution to relieve their stress. “With inflation, wages have once again become a real concern,” says Claire Schroeder. Of course, being better paid has no direct impact on the amount of work. But “salary is often perceived as a facilitator, if executives are increased, they believe that they will be able to better support the professional mental load”, adds the director of human resources of Mooncard.
Among the other solutions, we find the recruitment of a new person (27% of managers mention this possibility) or better automation of administrative tasks (18%). The change to a four-day week and the strict right to disconnect are more popular with young people. 27% of executives under 35 support the four-day week. 27% of 18-24 year olds wish they didn’t receive emails on vacation or late night calls.
This Ifop study was carried out by a self-administered questionnaire on 1,002 executives working in structures with 10 or more employees, between May 12 and May 25, 2023, via the quota method.