It’s no secret that Singaporeans are stressed. But just how stressed are we?
Well, according to a study, we, as a nation are coughing up a whopping $3.1 billion or as much as 18% of our total healthcare expenditure on stress-related illnesses every single year.
I feel stressed just thinking about it.
Wait so who was this study done by?
The study was done by a healthcare consultancy firm Asia Care Group on behalf of health insurance and services company Cigna.
And for comparisons’ sake, Singapore ranked second-highest against countries like Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States.
Singapore ranks second just before Australia’s 18.8%. A tad too close for comfort.
On a global scale, 84% of those surveyed admitted to feeling stressed, while 64% said that they were surrounded by an “always-on” environment.
Pretty much sums up Singaporean work life doesn’t it?
Unless you work at Goody Feed la.
So what exactly about Singaporean work-life that causes stress?
Well, for example, the ‘culture’ of being required to engage with work during and after work hours is a common scenario. This unsurprisingly contributes to stress levels.
This culture is more common in Asia.
Illnesses Related To Stress
So now you must be wondering how stress leads to illnesses right?
*Drum Roll*
Don’t hold your breath while reading this, because it’s a pretty long list.
Stress brings about illnesses with physical symptoms like headaches, muscle aches, joint pain, irritable bowel syndrome, heartburn and trouble breathing.
Mental symptoms, on the other hand, include anxiety, depressive and panic disorders.
Findings showed that more than 160,000 people (that is a lot of people) in Singapore get admitted to public hospitals as inpatients for stress-related illnesses every year.
Get ready for more shocking facts.
More than 11 million appointments are made with General Practitioners (GPs) every year due to stress-related illnesses.
So how can we resolve this pressing issue since we can’t possibly quit our jobs. Or can we?
According to The New Paper, Asia Care Group’s managing partner Thalia Georgiou says, “Identifying patients suffering from stress-related illness earlier in their journey and upskilling hospital staff to detect and manage patients with stress conditions are likely to be highly effective in reducing the burden on hospital beds and financing.”
Wait I thought the advice was supposed to help those suffering from stress at work.
Nevertheless, my personal advice? Look at cat memes at work.
You’re welcome.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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