Supportive Partners Alleviate Office-Related Stress

An understanding partner at home can help cope with work-related tensions and problems, a new research by the Concordia and University of Montreal, Canada states.

Workplace stress is worsened when employees feel they do not have enough support from supervisors and colleagues, as well as little control over work processes. It is important to create awareness about office-related stress because it is a problem that needs to be addressed mostly in developed and industrialized countries.

"It turns out that mental health in the workplace does not exist in a vacuum; it is deeply affected by the rest of a person's day-to-day life and vice versa," Alain Marchand, a professor from the school of industrial relations at the University of Montreal said in a university statement. "To maintain a truly healthy workforce, we need to look outside the office or home in simple terms to combat mental health issues in the workplace," he added.

The researchers surveyed 1,954 employees from 63 different organisations for the study. They enquired about various factors such as parental status, household income, social network, gender, age, physical health and levels of self-esteem.

The team also examined stressors mostly seen in the workplace such as emotional exhaustion, poor use of skills, high psychological demands, job insecurity and lack of authority. "The study shows that fewer mental health problems are experienced by those living with a partner, in households with young children, higher household incomes, less work-family conflicts and greater access to the support of a social network outside the workplace," Marchand said.

Apart from supportive colleagues, researchers noted that job recognition and security are important.

Senior study author Steve Harvey, a professor of management and dean of Concordia University's John Molson School of Business said that it necessary to broaden the perspective of the study in order to get a complete picture of the complexity of factors that determine individuals' mental health at workplace.

The study was published in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.