Stressed out? You are not alone

Date: Sept. 28, 1999
Time: 2:43 pm

"The tenor of the discussions in the ‘90s has clearly shifted from the promise of leisure to the problem of time," said Zuzanek, who coedited the latest issue of the Journal of Society and Leisure examining stress and "time pressures" in life at the end of the 20th century. He adds that the length of the work week has remained largely the same over the last decade and people still don't feel they have enough free time.

"The majority of people seem to live under the impression that they have less time and that their daily lives are more rushed today than ever before," added Zuzaneck, a professor of recreation leisure studies at the University of Waterloo. "Approximately half of North Americans report they are experiencing high or moderate levels of stress, and this is apparently true in other countries as well."

The issue on stress includes studies from countries such as Germany, Australia, Russia, the Netherlands, the US, Finland and Canada. While the consensus is that people feel more stressed than ever before, researchers are divided as to why. Some have linked time pressures and elevated work-related stress to growing productivity demands and others attribute higher stress levels to a multiplication of role tasks for workers.

Zuzanek said however, that a 1994 Canadian study on stress found it was personal problems that caused people the most stress.

"Obviously, life is most stressful when the uncertainties of life which cause chronic stress combine with overload pressure," said Zuzanek. "People with small children, people who are divorced or separated, and people who are widowed experience the greatest life-cycle squeeze."

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