Stress from overwork is a key factor in public health. Some believe the government should do something about this. This essay will discuss whether this type of intervention is necessary.
Longer working hours and higher levels of stress are caused by a combination of factors. Firstly, there is now greater competition for jobs, which means that employers can pressure workers to achieve more within their working week. Often, this can only be done by working longer days; if workers refuse, they can easily be replaced. Secondly, developments in mobile technology have created an expectation that problems will be dealt with immediately. For these reasons, the office now extends into the home, and old ideas, such as working ‘9 to 5, no longer exist in many jobs. Consequently, more and more workers now report feeling exhausted. Clearly. employees are not receiving the support they need.
While working conditions have changed enormously, in many countries, employment regulations have not. Some people may argue that the government can do little to help. However, several countries have already managed to address these problems. In one instance, the working week was officially reduced to 4 days. This was initially done as an experiment to gauge the impact on businesses and workers, but the result was a success. The workers were not only more relaxed but also more productive, and still able to meet their targets. However, it seems unlikely that businesses would make changes like this unless they were forced to do so. This shows that governments do have an important role to play in the way employees are treated.
In conclusion, much of the stress now felt by workers comes from the faster pace of life and work, and companies should help employees deal with this. I completely agree that governments should act on behalf of workers to force this change.