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The average person spends 21% of their waking hours at work over their lifetime. Therefore, it is important that we understand and try to combat areas of stress to make our working lives more positive and productive.

LinkedIn Learning recently conducted a survey on the biggest drivers of stress at work, with the results as follows:

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

For as long as we can remember, having a work-life balance has been considered an ultimate goal. Excelling in our careers while still having adequate time to spend with family and friends, however the reality is that this doesn’t exist.

American entrepreneur and best-selling author, Gary Keller argues that ‘living in the middle means never giving something your all’. The truth is, we must learn to better prioritise our time for whatever is most important to us right now.

Want to move your career forward? Spend a disproportionate amount of your time on your work (our team are always on hand to assist you).
Want more time with your family? Start going home on time or block out some time in the future to spend some quality time with those closest to you… and stick to it!

Understanding and appreciating the reality of a work-life balance is the first step in having one. This way when you’re at work, you’re at work. And when you’re home, you can give people around you your undivided attention.

CONFIDENCE IN JOB FUTURE

As PSR’s Group Development Director David Berks pointed out at this years’ End of Year Conference, “we live in uncertain times”. Politics, technology and climate change are arguably the most disruptive elements of our immediate future.

Politics

We don’t need to mention the ‘B’ word to understand the impact it is having on the UK construction market. GlobalData forecasts that the UK’s construction output would contract by 1.8% in 2019 (under a hard ‘B’), the first negative outturn since 2012. This has and will result in more delayed projects, a decline in EU construction workers operating in the UK and generally higher stress levels in the industry we know and love.

Technology

The world is continuing to develop at an incredible pace. 3D printing for Residential builds, smart technology and wearable technology like AR to maximise site efficiency.

The rise of such technologies has been giving people doubt about the role they play alongside new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence for a while now. Take the infamous robotic bricklayer for example, some may say this will put people out of work. We believe the lines will inevitably blur at some point but only we currently possess soft skills and use them effectively; creativity, communication and motivation to name a few.

Climate Change

This topic has had growing media coverage to the masses in recent years. From David Attenborough’s hit TV shows ‘Blue Planet’ and ‘Our Planet’, the EU’s ban of single-use plastics by 2021 and most recently, the UK becoming the first country to declare a climate change emergency and claims we ‘can cut emissions to nearly zero’ by 2050.

This societal shift means big changes in the way the UK construction industry currently operates. Smart materials, modular builds and implementation of level 3 BIM across all construction sectors are a few that we see playing key roles making this 2050 goal a reality.

Our point is, none of these changes are under our individual control. We can either choose to move with the times or risk putting ourselves under incredible amounts of unnecessary pressure. PSR MD, James Sanders once shared with staff why he believes PSR grew through the 2008 recession, and it all boiled down to ‘rolling with the punches and doing things smarter and more effectively than the competition’.

SENSE OF PURPOSE / DIRECTION

This element of stress at work usually sits with young professionals who are unsure about their career path and those who are well into their careers and are wondering what direction they should go in next.

It’s perfectly normal not to have your whole career planned out but having a goal to achieve will do wonders in minimising the question of purpose and direction of your working life. After all, why would successful business leaders ever meticulously plan and set stretch-targets to help achieve business objectives? Because it works.

We should look at our careers in the same light, setting ourselves a long-term goal and developing small habits that will contribute to the overall achievement of it. Think of it like a line of dominoes. What do you need to line up now so that when you are ready to knock over your first domino, you have a clear direction and can execute each objective with purpose.

We hope that by breaking down the top 3 biggest drivers of stress at work, we have added some value in making your work and personal lives more positive and productive.

PSR's award-winning construction recruitment specialists are committed to helping each of our candidates find their dream job. Contact Us in confidence, register or send us your CV and let's get started.

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