Modern life takes its toll on nation’s health
25 November 2005
The stress of modern life is taking its toll on the nation’s health according to a report by swiftcover.com. Two thirds of Brits questioned (65%) felt that time pressure related stress is having a negative impact on their health, with call centres being the most common trigger.
swiftcover.com’s study, commissioned through the Future Foundation looked at the main causes of stress, and found that call centres are the top offenders (81%) – ahead of sitting in a traffic jam (71%), queuing in a bank, post office or pub (68%), or waiting for a delayed train (63%). Not surprising, considering the study also revealed that telephone admin is the new form of domestic drudgery with Brits spending more than an average working week (41 hours) each year of their life on the telephone dealing with administration.
Many people who took part in the study felt that this type of stress is the culprit for a number of ailments leading to MTP.
Over half of all respondents (56%) report suffering from a lack of sleep, this complaint is more common amongst women (60%) than men (51%).
Just less than half (47%) suffer from headaches. Again, this condition affects substantially more women (54%) than men (39%).
Men are more prone to raised blood pressure (27%) than women (20%), and grinding their teeth, 21% of men compared with 17% of women.
One in six respondents (17%) report having chest pains, and a similar number suffer hair loss or bad skin.
One in eight (13%) even felt they had developed a nervous habit or tick through stress.
Andrew Blowers, Chief Executive of swiftcover.com says: "Call centres were created to make financial services quicker and easier to transact so it’s pretty depressing to see that they have become the cause of so much anxiety. However, consumers do have a choice and no longer have to suffer – most financial products can now be entirely purchased online, cutting out the call centre experience and avoiding the resulting stress".
swiftcover.com highlights some measures that may help reduce the ill effects of stress caused by domestic drudgery. These include:
Be organised – keep copies of important documents in a safe and easy to find place so you always have vital information at your fingertips. There are online facilities for this – such as Swift Space from swiftcover.com.
Budget properly – create a household budget sheet and keep a close eye on finances. Make sure you are not paying more than you need to for essentials such as motor insurance.
Plan your day – use a diary or online calendar and always keep an hour free each day for those unexpected last minute tasks. Make sure that you allow some time every day for unwinding and relaxing.
Knowledge is power – learn your rights when dealing with organisations especially call centres – so you can ‘fight your corner’ and not become stressed.
Avoid stressful situations – having learned what causes your blood to boil do your best to avoid these situations and tasks as much as possible and find alternative ways of doing things.
Get your own back – call a call centre and put them on hold!
