Survey Finds 40% of Luxembourg Workers Go Home Stressed

A recent survey conducted by Luxembourg-based job website Moovijob.com has revealed that 40% of Luxembourg workers go home stressed from work every day.

According to the survey, only 11% of workers in the Grand Duchy said they return home feeling calm every day. 27% of respondents admitted they bring work stress home a few times a month and 22% said it happens rarely. 

Moovijob.com said that feeling work-related stress at home often depends on one’s sector, position and ability to manage pressure. The greater the responsibilities at work, the more likely they are to follow you home, especially when they are difficult to manage. 

Moovijob.com also noted that sometimes one can feel overwhelmed for no particular reason, particularly if the atmosphere in an office is toxic or one’s superiors are overly demanding. They noted that under these circumstances it is perfectly understandable to feel reluctant about going back to work the next day.

One manager who responded to the survey said: "I think the most important thing is to set real boundaries, especially mental ones. Accept that not everything can be resolved instantly and that some things can wait until the next day. Remember that performance at work also depends on personal balance, and that preserving your private life is not a luxury but a necessity if you want to last in this kind of role."

Moovijob.com recommends a number of methods to help reduce work-induced stress. These include organising unfinished tasks before leaving the office, taking the opportunity to review everything accomplished during the day and taking a brief walk after leaving the office to clear one’s mind of things and help rid negative thoughts. 

Other suggestions are to see the commute to work not as a chore but as a way to quietly take one’s mind off things by listening to music, podcasts or reading a book, avoiding using one’s phone after leaving the office and disconnecting from screens for a period, as well as avoiding linking work email accounts to a personal phone or computer. However, if this is required, they recommend turning off notifications in the evening.

On this point, Moovijob.com stressed that the right to disconnect is a right enshrined in Luxembourg labour law and one should be able to take a break from work when at home, in the evening, on holiday or at the weekend. Employers must respect this right and cannot reproach you for being unavailable outside of working hours.