Eight in 10 people admit they’ve cried on the job – and most were driven to tears by their bosses, survey reveals
- 14% say they cry at work at least once a week and, occasionally, every day
- 45% said they shed tears at the office because of their bosses or colleagues
- Others blamed their workloads, personal issues at home or bullying at work
Eight in 10 workers admit they’ve cried on the job, a new survey from job search engine Monster.com reveals.
Around 14 percent of employees say they break down in tears at least once a week, and even every day, reported CBS.
Most blamed their bosses or colleagues, while others said their workloads or personal issues at home were the source of their weeping.
The researchers say the survey’s findings are evidence that American workers are ‘suffering’ and that employers need to relieve some of the pressure off of their employees.
A new survey from job search engine Monster.com reveals that 45% of workers have cried on the job because of their bosses or colleges and 20% say it’s because of their workload (file image)
The majority of the workers – 45 percent – said that it was their bosses or colleagues that brought them to tears.
About 20 percent said they wept in the office due to problems at home or outside of work.
Meanwhile, 16 percent said they cried because they were overwhelmed by their workloads, which the Monster surveyors said could be a sign of being overworked.
Other responses in the survey included bullying at the office, problems with a client or an error at work.
The American workers surveyed weren’t the only ones who admitted to problems on the job.
Previous studies have shown that long work hours can lead to physiological problems in employees.
A study from the University of Southern California followed bankers for nine years and found that, by the third year, they often developed tics such as nail-biting or conditions like insomnia
Other studies have shown that workers suffer from poor mental health, it results in billions of dollars of lost income.
A study published last year by Pennsylvania State University found that poor mental health costs the US $53 billion a year as employees take more days off and work slower.
‘The results show that there are multiple factors – a toxic boss or co-worker, or a heavy workload – that can make people cry at work, providing further proof that American workers are suffering,’ Jonathan Beamer, Monster’s chief marketing officer, told CBS.
Monster career expert Vicki Salemi told CBS that there is a stigma around crying at work because, while it’s mostly done in private, it can be viewed as a sign of weakness.
‘If someone else sees you, it’s not “game over”, ‘ she told the network. ‘Do an internal check-in: “Why am I upset?” Get to the root of it, then figure out the solution.’
She also suggested that if employees are looking for a new job to get out of a toxic workplace, they should keep that mind when they interview.
‘Watch the work environment. What is the body language like,’ Salemi told CBS.