EY Greece survey – 4 out of 10 employees can not manage stress

The pandemic and the measures adopted to deal with it have significantly burdened our daily lives, creating concerns for the mental health and well-being of workers worldwide. EY Hellas, Hellas EAP and the Laboratory of Experimental Psychology of the Department of Psychology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, wanting to investigate the extent and dimensions of the problem, conducted a joint research on mental health and well-being in Greece.

The survey, which was conducted in May / June 2021, at the time when the second universal lockdown was completed in Greece, and was completed by 1,232 employees in the private and public sector of the country, brings to light worrying findings about the effects of the pandemic on everyday life and in the mental health of Greek workers.

More specifically, nine variables were investigated: stress, depression, physicalization, anger, loneliness, quality of life (wellbeing), quality of work life, attitudes towards remote work and attitudes towards mental health. It is noted that during the survey period, 35% of the participants worked remotely, 30% in a physical environment and 35% in a hybrid work scheme.

Increased signs of depression, anxiety and anger

Research has recorded high rates for a number of symptoms associated with depression. Thus, more than one third of the employees surveyed feel depressed (35%) and pessimistic about the future (35%), or state that they have no appetite for anything (34%).

Stress-related symptoms are quite widespread, with two in three (68%) feeling nervous or upset, 40% being overwhelmed and 18% feeling fearful. Unprecedented pandemic conditions have also led to outbursts of anger, with 70% of respondents feeling irritable, 3 in 10 having...