Slow Leadership: The (Canadian) Workplace Blues

According to The Globe and Mail of Canada, Statistics Canada have found that even Canadians suffer from workplace stress, despite that nation's reputation for being tolerant and laid back. In "The Workplace Blues, published today, October 17th, the writer states:

In a related report released today, Statscan studied the levels of stress and depression in the working population and found that more than one-million adult Canadians had suffered “a major depressive episode” in the year before the 2002 survey and, of those, 7 in 10 were employed during the year.

Work-related stress contributed, but was not the only factor, triggering depression in working-aged Canadians, according to the study.

“The jobs considered to be the most stressful are often referred to as high-strain jobs. This means that demands are high, yet workers have few opportunities to use their skills and make decisions,” Statscan said in its report, Stress and Depression in the Employed Population.

The study on job dissatisfaction found clear associations between the amount of job stress workers perceived and their levels of job satisfaction.

It's fairly easy to find reports like this. What a shame there aren't more that congratualte employers who do the right thing. Encouragement often works better then criticism at changing attitudes. And note the interesting point that "high-strain jobs" combine many demands with "few opportunities to use their skills and make decisions." What a marvelous description of working under conditions of Hamburger Management.