US workers: On-the-job tension not so bad; Worrying about retirement savings

US workers: On-the-job tension not so bad

NOT TOO TENSE: Despite layoffs, mounting workloads and slow wage growth, many employed Americans — especially men and urbanites — say tension at work isn’t at a full boil.

In a recent survey, only 25 percent say their workplace is too tense, while a third report “almost no tension.” Meanwhile, 41 percent say the tension level in their workplace is appropriate.

People from the Midwest/Plains and Northeast regions of the country were likeliest to feel on-the-job strain — 34 percent and 28 percent, respectively. Those in the South and West were apparently more at ease. Only 21 percent and 19 percent of survey repondents from those regions said their workplaces were too tense.

A third of people living in rural or suburban areas said there was too much tension at their jobs, compared with only 23 percent of city dwellers.

More women than men in the survey reported on-site stress. Of female respondents, 28 percent said they were under stress at work, while only 22 percent of male respondents felt the same way. And 37 percent of men said there was almost no tension at their job, compared with 29 percent of women.

The telephone survey of 492 employed U.S. adults was taken March 4-7 by Healthy Companies International, a management consultancy. The sampling error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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RETIREMENT PLANS: A recent survey of adults over 45 suggests that while they’re worried about their income level during retirement, the recession hasn’t done much to change how they plan for life after work.

The survey by the Society of Actuaries reported that 72 percent of adults over 45 who haven’t retired yet feel they have to save more because of the recession. And 71 percent of pre-retirement adults last year said that they were concerned about the value of their savings being eroded by inflation, up from 63 percent in 2007.

But there was not much change in how survey-takers planned to save for retirement. For example, those saying they were already saving as much as they could (47 percent) or planned to save as much as they could in the future (42 percent) were both down slightly from 2007.

The proportion of those investing in stocks or mutual funds (55 percent) was nearly unchanged, as was the number of those who had paid off, or planned to pay off, all credit-card debt (45 percent) and their mortgages (29 percent).

The only big difference in how middle-aged adults planned for their financial future related to spending. 54 percent said they had cut back on spending, up from 37 percent in 2007.

About 800 U.S. residents born from 1929 to 1964 were surveyed over the telephone from July 1-17. The results were released on April 1. The margin of error was plus or minus 5 percentage points.