Work Pressure
The pressures of work, have been intensifying especially in the last decade. Factors such as the advances in information technology and information load, the need for speed of response, the importance attached to quality of customer service and its implications for constant availability and the pace of change with its resultant upheavals and adjustments all demand our time and can be sources of pressure. The evidence from many economies clearly shows the average number of hours worked have been steadily increasing especially in the last 10 years.

It is not uncommon to hear of people working more than 50 hours a week not including bringing work to their homes to be completed overnight and at weekends. There are also reports of increase in the intensity of work. Intensity is broadly described as working at very high speeds and subject to tight deadlines. As a result, the demands of work begin to dominate life and a sense of work-life imbalance ensues. This imbalance often leads to stress induced illnesses and chronic medical problems.