Dream Day Off: The Hartford's Research Finds Stressed Out Workers Want Time Off with Ty, Tiger, Rachael
2008-08-21 17:26:03 -
thehartford.com - The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. Kelly J. Carter, 860-843-9420 Kelly.carter@hartfordlife.com or David Potter, 860-843-8993 david.potter1@hartfordlife.com Today's workers are stressed out about making ends meet, paying more at the pump, and dealing with work issues. They dream about having a day off from work with lifestyle gurus and sports stars. In reality, Americans are using much of their paid time-off tackling chores, caring for others, or recuperating from illness, according to recent research by The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., (NYSE: HIG), one of the nation's largest diversified financial services companies.
When asked about a dream day off, more workers selected famous names in relaxing pursuits over business and government leaders:
-- Home improvement with Ty Pennington: 17 percent
-- Cooking with Rachael Ray: 13 percent
-- Golf with Tiger Woods: 12 percent
-- Lunch with Sen. Barack Obama: 12 percent
In the dream day off vote, Democratic presidential candidate Obama beat out Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain by a three-to-one margin.
The Hartford's national time-off survey also found Americans have spent fewer than half of their days off this year (42 percent) on vacation away from home and 9 percent on hobbies or enjoyable activities.
"In today's busy world, many of us are using our time away from work doing all the things that must be done to take care of ourselves and our family," said Marjorie Savage, absence management director in The Hartford's Group Benefits Division. "This leaves less time to re-energize our bodies and minds. A lack of 'downtime' often leads to fatigue and increased levels of stress."
In fact, three out of four U.S. workers (73 percent) feel stressed, according to The Hartford's research. Their top stressors were financial concerns (55 percent), gasoline prices (41 percent), work issues (37 percent), and the economy overall (32 percent).
Many of respondents' financial concerns relate to how today's U.S. economy affects their employment. Approximately one in four workers said they are worried about their incomes decreasing, are more anxious about work, and have additional work/increased workload.
"Given the state of the world, the high stress among employees isn't surprising, but it's not something to be ignored. Constant high stress can affect workers' performance and safety, leading to poor decisions, mistakes, accidents and even illnesses," said Savage. "People want to do well in their jobs. They want to come to work every day feeling physically and emotionally ready for whatever challenges they may face."
Employers may not be able to enlist celebrities to help overworked employees tame tension, but they can provide assistance in these tough times. Savage offers these tips:
-- Communicate to employees that financial and legal assistance can be found through the company Employee Assistance Program (EAP). EAP can also connect workers with elder and child care providers. Family time, including taking care of a parent, child or spouse, accounted for 23 percent of workers' paid time-off this year, according to the survey.
-- Consider scheduling options, such as telecommuting or compressed work weeks, to help fight the pain at the pump. Nineteen percent of workers said their employers offer telecommuting and only 9 percent of employers have a compressed work week as an option.
-- Encourage employees to beat the blues and improve their health by working up a sweat. Forty percent of workers said they would use discounts to a local fitness/health center if they were offered by their employers.
-- Promote good health by holding on-site wellness workshops at convenient times for employees. For example, hold a lunchtime session on how to control allergies or cholesterol. The Hartford's survey found workers have used 17 percent of their paid time-off in 2008 on personal health issues, such as recuperating from an illness.
Employees aren't alone when it comes to stress in the workplace. Keeping track of employee absences can be a huge administrative strain for employers of all sizes. A leading provider of employee benefits, The Hartford offers best-in-class absence management programs, helping employers manage the full spectrum of absences from personal days off to federal, state and company-sponsored leaves. Improved absence management programs can average 11 percent in productivity gains to a corporation's bottom line, according to the Integrated Benefits Institute, a national, not-for-profit organization focused on workforce health and productivity.
While stress stretched across all generations, The Hartford's time-off survey found each generation had a different interpretation of "a dream day off." Pennington ranked first with Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), Woods was No. 1 with Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) and shopping with Victoria Beckham was tops with Millennials (born between 1981 and 1999).
For The Hartford's survey, independent market research agency Opinauri, Inc., conducted an online survey polling 750 U.S. adults, aged 18-64, in July 2008. Survey data was re-balanced to a nationally representative sample of 750 U.S. adults. The margin of error was +/- 3.6%.
About The Hartford
The Hartford, a Fortune 100 company, is one of the nation's largest diversified financial services companies, with 2007 revenues of $25.9 billion. The Hartford is a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; and business property and casualty insurance. International operations are located in Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil and Ireland. The Hartford's Internet address is www.thehartford.com.
HIG-L
Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution investors that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These important risks and uncertainties include those discussed in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued.
ΒΆ Survey finds employees long for R&R with lifestyle and sports
stars but spend most of their time-off tackling chores, taking care of
others or recuperating from illness
