Stress levels rise for SA’s professionals

Demanding careers and a tough economic climate are some of the reasons why many South African professionals reported that they are more stressed overall this year compared with 2017.

The 2018 Profmed Stress Index released this week indicated that financial stress among SA professionals had increased during the year.

Profmed CEO Graham Anderson said the rise in financial stress was not surprising, considering the current economic conditions “which continue to take their toll on every sector of South African society”.

“Due to higher demands from careers, like working late or working overtime, people may have less time and energy to socialise with their peers, adding to feelings of detachment and wanting to be alone,” Anderson said.

The survey had been conducted among nearly 2,500 graduate professionals across a range of industries, Profmed said. The industries surveyed included legal, accounting, marketing and media, engineering, and medical.

The largest group of respondents (539) was aged between 25 and 34, and the secondlargest, with 509 respondents, between 55 and 64.

In the survey, 56% of the respondents were male.

According to the report, one of the key areas of concern from the findings was the increase in the number of professionals who indicated they were suffering from stress-induced anxiety and depression.

“Almost 40% of respondents reported feeling more detached this year and wanting to be

Graham Anderson

alone,” the report said.

More than 21% of the respondents reported having suffered from anxiety in 2018, 7.7% suffered from depression and 17.9% suffered from both.

But further findings indicated that while stress affected the respondents emotionally, physically and mentally, more than 75% of the respondents felt they were able to handle their stress well.

In comparison with Profmed’s 2017 results, almost 60% of the 2018 respondents were actively doing something about their stress, with exercise cited as the leading remedy.

Other remedies identified by the respondents were taking a holiday, medication, speaking to a family member, and speaking to a professional.

Exercise improved both physical wellbeing and mental health, Anderson said.

“Studies have shown that exercise releases endorphins, which increases levels of focus and improves your sleep, all of which gives you a greater sense of control over your life.”

‘Less time and energy to socialise with peers [adds] to feelings of detachment’

PROFMED CEO