Sleepless? Occupational stress affects the sleep of 60% of professionals

Sleep quality is one of the aspects that most impacts the overall well-being of the workforce.

According to Gympass’ Corporate Wellbeing Panorama 2024, 98% of professionals say that a good night’s sleep is important for general well-being.

However, 60% of employees say they are unable to get quality sleep due to stress at work.

Sleep

The situation is critical for a considerable portion of the workforce: one in ten survey participants (9%) say they lose sleep every night, 24% several times a week and 27% several times a month.

Another 23% said they lose sleep at least a few times a year and only 17% of workers interviewed in the study said they never lose sleep due to stress at work.

Participants who lose sleep due to work say they experience a worsening of emotional well-being, motivation and productivity.

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Sleep deprivation, even for short periods, impairs reasoning, causes emotional exhaustion and can delay important physical reactions to prevent workplace accidents, especially in high-risk environments.

Health risks

When it becomes a chronic problem, it can cause cognitive decline – even leading to dementia – and increase the risk of developing heart disease and obesity.

“If companies do not support employees in taking care of their sleep, the problem can become a vicious cycle: loss of sleep reduces productivity, causing more stress, which further impairs sleep quality and work performance” , explains Renato Basso, vice president of People at Gympass.

The good news is that employees are eager to improve in this regard, with nine in ten study participants saying they take steps to improve their sleep quality.

In addition to stress at work, financial concerns also impact employees’ sleep quality.

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Half of the people interviewed in the study reported that they lose sleep at least a few times a month due to economic concerns.

This can also cause the company to spend more on healthcare.

In other words, companies that do not have competitive compensation packages within their respective markets may end up paying more for their health plan.

“The sleep health situation of the workforce shines a warning light for organizations. When work demands prevent people from taking care of their physical health (sleep, nutrition and physical activity), ultimately, they also prevent employees from delivering the expected results”, says Basso.