Layoffs, survivor’s guilt, bigger workloads are burning out employees

Work has become more stressful across Iowa since the Great Recession hit in 2008, causing an increase in anxiety, panic attacks and employee turnover, some experts say.

It started with layoffs.

Layoffs in Iowa exploded fivefold in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to state statistics. Between September and December 2008, 22,051 companies had layoffs of 20 or more, compared with only 4,048 companies in the previous three months. The high layoff numbers continued in the first half of 2009, before settling down in the latter half.

The remaining employees are working harder, experts say, and coping with high levels of stress.

“They work harder, faster, longer to prove that their position is important or valued,” said Cynthia Vaske, who manages the Employee Assistance Program offered by St. Luke's Hospital. “Then they go through burnout.”

Employee assistance programs offered as an employer-sponsored benefit through Mercy Medical Center and St. Luke's have seen a spike in calls and employer signups in the past year.

Mercy Medical Center's program has added four employees in the past few months to keep up with the demand, manager Ann Alliger said.

“Summer is typically a slower time for our service, and we are busy and adding another clinician to meet our demand,” Alliger added.

The program at St. Luke's has added financial counseling, lawyer referral and a professional coaching component because of the need for those services.

The symptoms of workplace stress are no different than other stress, Alliger said. Sleeplessness, irritability and difficulty concentrating are among the milder ones.

At extreme levels, stress can trigger anxiety attacks, which can feel like a heart attack.

“They start to describe their symptoms,” Vaske said. “ ‘I started crying. My body was shaking, trembling, and I thought I was going to go crazy.' ”

By the time stress reaches the anxiety attack stage, Vaske said, psychotherapy and medication are usually necessary to deal with the problem.

Some workers feel what is called “survivor's guilt” after co-workers have lost their jobs. It's a condition more commonly associated with war veterans who've lost buddies and doctors who've lost patients. Survivor's guilt often appears as grief or depression.

“They blame themselves for doing too little to save someone who was in danger,” Vaske said.

Alliger said employers who ignore employee stress run the risk of “presenteeism.” The term refers to workers who are afraid to miss work but aren't able to contribute effectively because they are too mentally or physically sick.

Losing good employees is another risk. MetLife's 2010 office worker study found that 40 percent of employees reported an increased workload over the past year, and 36 percent placed a higher priority on productivity.

The pressure for more productivity led to decreased job satisfaction, the survey found, with 45 percent of the employees surveyed hoping to change jobs when the economy improves.

Not all the stress the recession places on workers comes from job demands.

Vaske said the recession has crimped household budgets, resulting in fewer dollars to spend on relaxing pastimes, such as vacations, movies and sports, that serve as a counterweight to workplace stress.

Some common signs that an employee needs assistance are an inability to sleep for two or more weeks or an inability to get through the day without crying on a regular basis, Alliger said.

Besides employee assistance programs, Alliger said, some employers are trying other approaches, like handing out stress balls, offering yoga classes and offering on-site chair massages.

Uncertainity is one of the biggest contributors to employee stress during a tough economy, said Lydia Brown, a partner in the Skywalk Group, an organizational development and recruiting consultant in Cedar Rapids.

“It is stressful not knowing what's going to happen,” Brown said, urging employers to keep employees better informed about the company's performance and challenges.

“Nothing should ever be a surprise,” Brown said. “Everybody should be understanding where the company is.”

The demographic range of employees seeking help with stress-induced conditions is wider than usual, Vaske said.

“Even people who've been there 20 years and took their jobs for granted are stressed, because ... they are afraid they're going to be laid off because they're close to retirement,” Vaske said.

The near-retirement workers are sometimes in desperate fear that a layoff will prevent them from completing the years they need to get retirement benefits, Vaske said.