Women and ethnic minorities ‘most anxious and stressed’ about returning to the office

Vulnerable groups also show high levels of stress and are most at risk of leaving their jobs, according to survey

Women, ethnic minorities and other vulnerable groups showed high levels of anxiety and stress about returning to the office, a survey revealed (Getty Images)

New research has found that stress and anxiety about work and returning to the office are on the rise, particularly among women and minority ethnic groups.

A survey of more than 150,000 employees revealed high stress levels, with women feeling more anxiety and stress than men, and people from minority ethnic backgrounds less likely to say they “rarely feel anxious or depressed about work” than white people.

Respondents to the survey are up to 13 per cent more stressed this year compared to last. In June 2020, most workplaces were still closed and overall happiness levels were at their highest for the year.

The research, carried out by digital platform WorkL, said that the question “I rarely feel anxious or depressed about work” scored its lowest score to date (61.10 per cent), which suggests people are experiencing more anxiety about work.

Women scored 59 per cent for , compared to men who scored 63 per cent. Meanwhile, people from BAME backgrounds scored 62 per cent, compared to white people who scored highly with 70 per cent.

Employees who identified as LGBTQ+ are also experiencing higher levels of stress and anxiety at the possibility of returning to the office compared to their heterosexual peers.

The survey found that LGBTQ+ people scored almost 12 per cent more than those who identify as heterosexual. WorkL also found that LGBTQ+ people are overall less happy at work and score low across all six of the platform’s workplace engagement areas.

These areas include reward and recognition, information sharing, empowerment, wellbeing, pride and job satisfaction.

The results suggest similar feelings among those from other minority groups, such as people with disabilities. This group scored low for the same question on anxiety at 59 per cent, while people without a disability scored 61 per cent.

The survey measured factors such as “working environment, relationship with line manager, sense of purpose and career progression” in determining people’s happiness and stress levels.

The research comes after the government denied it was considering legislation to give people the right to work from home forever. Last week, Downing Street issued the denial following reports that millions of UK workers could be given the right to work at home.

Lord Mark Price, co-founder of WorkL, said the survey results indicated that people within vulnerable groups may “have higher odds” to leave their workplace, with 39 per cent of respondents at risk of leaving their jobs.

He said: “As people think about returning to the office, perhaps feeling stressed they might be looking for new opportunities or seek to change career. So right now, employers will be focused on ‘Flight Risk’.

“Here at WorkL we can evaluate this and our findings show the current flight risk score is 39.59 per cent.  39 per cent of respondents are at risk from leaving their job.

“Looking closer at the date those who are within vulnerable groups within Disability, Sexual Orientation and Seniority Positions, have higher odds to leave their company. It will be interesting to monitor Flight Risk as more and more people return to the office.”