Concept of stress meter with businessman


A new study reveals that employees working and living in the Midwest are the most stressed. The research ranked 182 U.S. cities across different stress categories: Work, financial, family, and health and safety. The results highlight how constant stress is not sustainable, contributing to ongoing staff retention challenges.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), an estimated 120,000 deaths can be attributed to workplace stress. While stress is a natural human response, too much of it can cause physical and mental health issues. And in an industry where frontline staff are asked to handle increasing operational demands alongside daily chemical and physical hazard exposure, employees can become easily overloaded.

The study identified the top ten stressed and least stressed cities, with Detroit, Michigan, claiming the top spot. Detroit ranked highest in work stress and was also identified as the city with the lowest average hours of sleep. Frontline workers who are mentally fatigued risk poor performance and workplace injury.

Factor in external pressures such as inflation and rising living costs, and it’s no wonder that around 75 percent of Americans report stress-related symptoms. Yet, there are avenues commercial cleaning executives can take to ensure workers' well-being, starting with company culture. In a monthly CleanLink survey, jan/san professionals shared how best to support the people at the heart of clean. Around 72 percent of industry members placed comprehensive compensation and benefit programs as a company priority for improving staff health and safety.

Discover which states manage stress most effectively and which have room for improvement in the full report.