The headlines are full of the toll on productivity, health, and even wealth taken by stress, both inside and external to the workplace. How are NAPA-Net readers feeling?
Well, overall it seems that we’re all stressed as well. A plurality (37%) responded, “heck, yes!” to whether they were stressed, and another 27% responded “yes.” Only 3% said “no,” just 7% said “not really” – and the remaining 26% were in the “sometimes” category, though as one reader explained, “But not really about retirement” (more on that in a minute).
One reader noted, “I’ve been trying to reduce the number of hats I’m wearing for the last year, but I still find that I am bogged down by working in the business, instead of on the business. My family and social life get squeezed in when I need a quick break, but that's all the time they get.” Another commented, “My move to working from home a few years ago essentially eliminated the work stress in my life, which was the time wasted on commuting that greatly affected my efficiency.”
That Was Then…
As for how that state of mind compared with a year ago, about 43% were “more stressed than a year ago,” 17% were less stressed now, and 13% were in “pretty much the same” place, stress-wise. The rest – well, they weren’t sure how stressed they were a year ago.
“Less than last year. Hiring additional staff has helped immensely,” noted one reader. “Since I wasn't that stressed a year ago,” said another, “I would say the same. I have a lot of deadlines, but my ability to work remotely has resulted in my becoming a scholar of organization and managing my time.”
In the “more stress” category was one reader who said, “I feel like more and more is expected from us in every aspect of our lives, and if we’re not staying late at work or pulling an all-nighter for the PTO then we’re not busy enough – and how busy you are indicates how important you are.” Another reader listed their “mores”: more responsibility at work, sick and aging mother, aging partner, finances.
Speaking of stress causes, readers are feeling it coming from many directions, including:
70% - work
37% - family
33% - family finances
23% - family health
17% - finances
17% - health
Other causes were cited as well, including: getting more business in the door, “balancing it all,” politics (“This subject can no longer be discussed without the possibility of alienating other people and provoking strong disagreement,” explained one reader) and tax reform – “Got my biggest tax bill ever for 2018. Surprise, surprise :),” said one reader.
“I am over-committed and am trying to extract myself from some commitments without adding new ones (or exploring cloning...),” commented one reader. “It’s getting tiring, all this 1st quarter work in this business,” said another. “It is too hard to find part-time, temp help in this industry, or perhaps we aren't looking hard enough or in the right places.”
For some, even good tidings brought stress: “The opportunity to buy a great house before it went on market fell in our laps, so we are pursuing it. However, just thinking about what we need to do to sell our current house is mind boggling,” noted one reader.
On the other hand, just 7% were stressed about retirement, and a like number weren’t stressed at all.
However, in terms of the workplaces they serve, 40% said they weren’t really finding more stress there, though nearly as many (37%) were. The rest (23%) were finding more in some workplaces. As for their own workplace, 63% were finding more stress, while 23% responded “not really,” and the remaining 14% said they were finding it “some.”
Top ‘Tips’
Earlier this week, I wrote a column (See “Better Than a Stress Ball”) with some tips on dealing with stress that have worked for me. NAPA-Net readers also had some to share:
“Shove it down deep... very deep. But seriously, you have to sort out what you can control and what you can’t, and figure out next steps from there. It’s OK to give yourself an allotted amount of time to freak out, but that won’t move the needle on whatever the issue is.”
“Generally, if I get away from people, I am fine. That doesn’t mean the people around me are the ones necessarily that caused the stress, but I am an introvert, and I find if I get away from people that I do just fine.”
“Work out, sleep less.”
“More walks.”
“Trying to work less than 80 hours a week and exercise more.”
“Exercise.”
“Eating healthier and exercising regularly.”
“I try to avoid stressful situations rather than confront them. It doesn’t always work, unfortunately.”
“Yoga and meditation.”
“Run, work out, get massages/facials.”
“Is reading novels, watching Hallmark, and eating chocolate while ignoring problems until you can face them really considered dealing with stress? I am not dealing well at all. Thankfully, I have no inclination to smoke, drink alcohol, gamble, or take drugs, but I also have no inclination to eat healthy and exercise.”
“Exercise. Meditation.”
“Wine.”
“Taking supplements, meditation, implementing ‘The Work’ by Byron Katie, praying.”
“Worrying about it, which (spoiler alert) doesn’t help and praying about it, which, when I'm really honest in my prayers, does help.”
“Outside activities and scheduling time away from work.”
“Exercise, meditation, yoga and wine, not necessarily in that order :o).”
“I tend to be a stress eater, so I try to drink more water and work out more.”
“Work harder... not a great stress reliever!”
“Talk it out with my spouse. Pray a lot. Then pick from my options and move on.”
“The 3 Ws: working out, whining, and wine.”
“Exercise. Yeah, I have to get up early to fit it in before work, but I feel like when I’m at the gym or on a run not only am I doing something good for myself (and usually enjoying an audiobook as well) but during that time no one can ask me for something more.”
“Exercise and spending time with friends.”
“Try to find balance between work and home.”
Reader Comments
And finally, we got a number of reader comments on the subject. Here’s a sampling:
“Stress has changed. We're growing, so it’s good stress, but I’m impatient about the progress sometimes.”
“As head of a TPA practice, fee compression and attrition due to larger companies swallowing up smaller companies and taking their retirement plans with them, has me a bit more stressed than last year. But last year I was stressed about a new acquisition, software conversions, etc. Just a different stress, but about the same level. Consistent.”
“There is an increasing trend in our company to work remotely, which has been greatly beneficial to our company, IMO. We were able to relocate to a smaller office space, and, we employee we value relocates, we are able to retain them. I believe that this trend has greatly reduced the amount of office stress...”
“I find I am disappointed by so many of the changes in the world, and the world of advisors and recordkeepers. Competition over clients borders on unscrupulous. New clients are won by playing on fears. Increasingly recordkeepers are asking asset managers to pay for shelf space for their products. We made so many strides toward fee transparency, and zero revenue sharing fund share classes became a standard offering. Having to revise our RFPs to inquire about payments for shelf space feels as if we are back to square one.”
“Some corporate cultures inadvertently foster the feeling that if employees are not working more hours, they are not producing enough.”
“Being in sales, the bottom line is your numbers. Unfortunately there are often may outside factors driving retirement plan sales specifically that are not always in your control. Management has a goal and everyone is expected to hit their goal. This time of year is when the reality starts to sink in if you are on track or not. Not on track = STRESS.”
“Work stress is easy for me to mitigate. Life and family stress is much more difficult for me.”
“My client contacts are overworked. Or spending too much time on Facecrack – not sure which. But it’s taking longer for people to get back to me and I'm receiving lesser-quality data and finding more mistakes in plan administration, which just makes my own job that much more difficult. I think we’re all overwhelmed.”
“Stress in the workplace due to budget constraints and constant reorganizations.”
“Guessing that it still holds true that if everyone sat in a circle and put their problems in the middle, chances are you'd want yours back and not someone else’s!”
“I have no idea who said it, but I believe it to be true – ‘If stress burned calories, I’d be a supermodel.’”
Thanks to everyone who participated in this week’s NAPA-Net Reader Poll!
