New analysis has revealed the areas of the UK where work-based stress is taking its toll on the population, with Watford, Bedford and Manchester residents topping the list.

Seven different ranking factors to compile an index looking at the areas of the UK struggling with burnout.

This includes the number of hours the average person is expected to work each week, salary growth levels and the number of people searching for new job opportunities.

The research also took into account the number of people searching for burnout symptoms on Google, life-satisfaction and happiness levels, and even the number of hours lost in congestion each year.

Watford residents appear to be especially burned out by their current working climate, with residents working for the longest period of time each week. Those living in Watford also experienced a real-time salary drop of 0.12% this year, and are likely to lose an average of 59 hours a year to traffic congestion.

The research comes as the notion of ‘quiet quitting’ rises in popularity, a notion that workers hold back from working beyond their allocated hours. YorkTest found that Google searches for ‘quiet quitting’ on Google went from being almost non-existent to seeing an increase of 18,000% in August, and TikTok has seen over 155 million views on videos around the idea.

Despite its high score for life satisfaction, almost a quarter of Bedford’s population are regularly searching for job site “Indeed” each month, in a sign that workers are keen to move jobs due to potentially being unhappy with their work/life balance.

Doncaster came in third, followed by larger cities Manchester and Nottingham. Mancunian workers in the Northern Powerhouse are also having to grapple with rising rent costs on top of salaries dropping. According to property website Rightmove, private rents have jumped by 23.4% per year.

The most burned out workers are:

1 – Watford
2 – Bedford
3 – Doncaster
=3 – Manchester
5 – Nottingham
6 – Bristol
7 – Leeds
8 – Stockport
9 – Rochdale
10 – Salford

The research highlighted that Southern cities are faring the best judging by the seven criteria. Woking residents have the highest happiness score at 8.3 out of 10, and those who live in Basildon experience 74% less time in traffic than those in Watford.

 Dr. Gill Hart, scientific director at YorkTest, commented on the findings: “Our stress levels can vary daily, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that burnout is still on the rise in the UK. Our surroundings, whether they’re at work, at home or purely geographically, can influence our stress levels, and work-based burnout can rear its head for a number of reasons.

“The good news is that there are some  steps that you can take to try to minimise your stress levels. Acknowledging that you’re burned out is the first step – and something you shouldn’t be afraid to mention to others. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, speak to your manager about your workload to see if they can lighten the load.

“Speak to people you trust, too, and try and spend time doing things you enjoy, as burnout can often dilute our passion for things as it can zap our energy. Cortisol levels affect a number of aspects of our body, and help us to regulate our stress levels and our body’s response to stress. Taking a stress (cortisol) test can help to detect how your stress hormone levels could potentially be impacting your life, your immunity and your health.”

Read the full index with a regional breakdown here: https://www.yorktest.com/blog/where-has-the-most-stressed-workers/

 Methodology
YorkTest found the most up-to-date Office of National Statistics (ONS) local authority data on the average hours worked per week, life satisfaction, happiness levels and salary growth, year-on-year.

Congestion data was taken from INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard for the local authority or the closest nearby to it, to understand how many hours per person is lost per year due to traffic.

Google Keyword Planner was used to understand the searches per geographic area for Indeed jobs and burnout symptoms, before using population data from The Geographist to create a per capita search score.

Each factor was then given an index out of 100 to create an overall score out of 700.

Research carried out by YorkTest