CHICAGO — Managing or overseeing an institutional, commercial or industrial laundry causes at least moderate stress, according to 91% of those responding to May’s Wire survey. And their stressors range from a co-worker (39.4%) to a customer or end user (18.2%) to any number of other variables, including the nature of their job (56%) and/or the volume of work (44%).
The stress felt by most of this month’s survey-takers is either “Moderate” or “Serious,” with each descriptor being selected by 45.5%. The remaining 9.1% classified their stress as “Low”; no one deemed their stress to be “Extreme.”
For about four out of 10 respondents, their job stress is chiefly caused by their relationship with another person they work with. For only about two out of 10 respondents, it’s chiefly caused by their relationship with a customer or end user.
Aside from these troublesome relationships, the nature of the job and its responsibilities causes stress for more than half of respondents, followed closely by workload. Lack of resources (24%), a personal health issue (16%), the physical work environment (12%) and the condition of equipment (12%) were also cited.
One out of five respondents selected “Other,” describing these stressors as involving family health issues, a lack of staff, cuts in the healthcare industry or other management staff’s poor understanding of the laundry’s importance. Fear of their service being outsourced stresses only 4% of respondents.
Nearly 64% say they feel job stress even when they’re away from their workplace, and nearly 70% say their stress level has reached a point where they considered looking for another job or possibly even another line of work.
But for all the negatives this survey may have generated, virtually every respondent said their job has positive aspects. Helping others, working with people, creating customer satisfaction, receiving good pay and benefits, and “having the freedom to make the decisions that affect my life” were just some of the positives they shared.
Respondents ranged in rank from shift supervisors and laundry managers to directors of environmental services and company CEOs.
Subscribers to American Laundry News’ Wire e-mails have the opportunity to take an industry survey each month. Click this link and follow the menu instructions to sign up for the free e-mail service.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].