Work Climate Index: Time Pressure and Complaints Dampen Satisfaction

The Work Climate Index was presented on Wednesday in Vienna. High pressures from time constraints, health problems, and psychological complaints reduce overall satisfaction with working life and make many doubt their ability to remain in their profession until retirement.

The index, which has been collected for almost 30 years, consists of four sub-areas: society, company, work, and expectations. After a peak of 109 points in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly dampened the mood, with the overall index recently falling to 102 points. Particularly, the sub-indices for company and work recorded losses and are currently at a low point with 68 and 71 points, respectively, while the society area has recovered and employee expectations have remained relatively stable.

Work Climate Index: Three Quarters Are Satisfied with Their Work

Three quarters of respondents state that they are (very) satisfied with their professional activity overall. However, the index clearly shows how strongly specific work burdens affect satisfaction: Of those who suffer from time pressure, 67 percent are satisfied with their work, compared to 78 percent of employees without this burden. Poor health conditions as well as loneliness or isolation in the workplace have a particularly strong impact on the work climate.

Psychological complaints, such as the feeling of not being able to switch off, significantly depress the work sub-index. The same applies to physical complaints - the more of these are reported, the further the index value falls, down to 56 points for people with seven or more ailments. As the burden increases, so does the willingness to change employers or even professions: 30 percent of those burdened by time pressure consider a change, compared to 21 percent without this burden. Among employees with strong work aversion, it is 48 percent, compared to only 6 percent without.

Whether one can endure in the current profession until retirement is closely linked to satisfaction. Of those satisfied with their activity, 70 percent can imagine staying in the profession until retirement, while it is less than half for those who are moderately or not satisfied. Life and income satisfaction, as well as the question of how well work and private life can be reconciled, also significantly influence this assessment.

Retail Under Particular Pressure During Advent

The current index sheds a special "spotlight" on retail, which is traditionally under high pressure during Advent. Noise, constant customer contact, long opening hours, and Saturday work make the pre-Christmas period one of the most stressful phases of the year. Only 56 percent of retail employees are (very) satisfied with their income, compared to 61 percent in other sectors. During the pandemic, satisfaction in retail dropped significantly and has not returned to pre-crisis levels since.

In light of the results, the Chamber of Labour Upper Austria calls for better working conditions to reduce burdens and facilitate staying in the profession until retirement. Overtime and additional work must be correctly compensated, emphasizes the Chamber of Labour. The "best pension policy" is an active labor market policy with the goal of full employment. For the Work Climate Index, more than 4,000 people across Austria are surveyed annually in personal interviews and online interviews, and since 2008, a health monitor has complemented the focus on work-related burdens.

(APA/Red)

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