A new survey by Travail.Suisse has revealed that over 800.000 workers in Switzerland want to switch jobs due to stress. Experts noted that the ongoing shortage of staff across the Swiss economy is having a significant impact on stress and burnout in the workplace.

Swiss do not fear losing jobs, but are extremely stressed

In the survey, reported by 20 Minuten, Travail Suisse and the University of Applied Sciences in Bern noted that the extremely low rate of unemployment and the high demand for new staff is a mixed blessing for those working in Switzerland. On the one hand, the extremely acute shortage of replacement staff means that more than half of employees do not fear losing their jobs, a 10 percent increase compared to 2019. 

On the other hand, experts noted that stress and the ability to switch off have become major issues for Swiss workers, as existing staff are required to do more to compensate for the lack of workers. 62,4 percent of respondents reported that being on the clock after working hours is now part of their job.

41,3 percent said that they were emotionally exhausted at the end of the workday, compared to just 12 percent who said they never or rarely felt tired. One in three also reported being too tired after work to deal with private or family matters.

Number of people looking to switch jobs rises by 170.000 in a year

As a result, the report found that stress levels in the Swiss workforce have reached an all-time high, with approximately 820.000 workers now looking to switch careers because of stress, an increase of 170.000 compared to 2022. “A high and increasing number of employees want to change jobs due to stress, and exhaustion is at an all-time high. It's not the flu or accidents at work that pose the greatest health risk, but rather stress," noted the president of Travail.Suisse Adrian Wüthrich.

“This is an absolute wake-up call. The new parliament is called upon to develop, during the next legislature, solutions to protect the health of workers, for the good of the national economy and the labour market,” he concluded.