Kiwi workers are stressed, and that’s official. A 2023 workplace report from global analytics and advice firm Gallup found that 47% of New Zealanders reported high levels of stress at work and 43% are watching or actively seeking a new job.

This makes New Zealand the third most stressed-out workers in the world, alongside Australia. When it comes to the most stressful occupations, individual contributors surprisingly lead in front of managers (41%), with 43% reporting high stress levels.

For beauty professionals manning busy counters, working in luxury retail or otherwise interacting with the public, this may feel familiar. Globally, sales support workers are suffering too: in August 2021, 721,000 US retail workers handed in their notice, representing the highest number of resignations in the American retail trade sector in over 20 years.

Long term stress leads to a range of problems which can include the mental and physical. Muscle tension and pain, heart disease and heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke as well as sleep issues and weight gain are just some symptoms people experience.

In a workplace context, New Zealand workers are more likely to suffer burnout than in any other country, a report by workplace design firm Unispace found. 70% of Kiwi workers said they had experienced burnout compared to the global average of 59%, the report said.

Most workers, regardless of their sector, know a bit about stress, and particularly what can cause it. From working extra long hours to a heavy workload, unreasonable expectations (or unreasonable people) and job insecurity, the root cases can be plentiful.

Microstress

But what many people, including those working in the beauty industry, tend to dismiss is the insidious issue of microstresses.

Because they are not those “big trigger” stressors, they tend to fly under the radar. Over time they add up to a significant toll taken on your mental and physical health.

Frequent, irritating interruptions throughout the working day is one microstress many of us suffer from. Minor conflicts or disagreements with colleagues or superiors, which can subconsciously play on your mind even after they are resolved, is another.

Continuous exposure to noise, cold, or lights that glare can also be triggering, and so can other people.

If you’re working within someone who is wound tightly, it’s very likely that this will rub off onto you. Researchers at University College London used fMRI to measure the neural responses of participants, both when they experienced pain, and when their loved one did too. The study discovered that when people around us are stressed or unhappy, we feel it, too.

Words: Kirstie McDermott