Stress has become a problem that is affecting the lives of more and more people in many countries. In my opinion, the main reason for this is work-life imbalance. To tackle this issue, companies should allow their employees to work less.
Working too much is notorious for causing stress. Living in a fast-paced world, people are now required to allocate most of their time to their jobs. While this provides them with financial stability, it may not give them enough time to spend on their hobbies or with their families. In the long run, this will deprive them of recreation, put pressure on their mental wellbeing, thereby causing them to be stressed. For instance, a recent survey was taken by many Japanese office workers showed that the majority of them feel that they were constantly under stress due to being overworked.
To solve the problem with work-life balance, the reasonable solution is to work less. Since stress is caused by not having enough personal time, fewer hours at work could give people the time they need to achieve fulfillment in their lives. Many companies in the world have implemented policies that allow their employees to have shorter working weeks. Google is a prime example, whose many departments are now functioning on 4-day workweeks. Feedbacks from its staff so far have been highly positive, with many saying that they now feel a lot more relaxed and enjoy the extra time they get with family and for personal interests.
In conclusion, as life becomes more hectic, more people are getting stressed out from their excessive number of work hours. To reduce stress and protect people’s mental wellbeing, businesses need to lower worktime requirements to allow people more time for their personal lives.