Monday, February 27, 2006

What Caused the Most Stress This Holiday Season? LifeCare Poll Has the Answers

What Caused the Most Stress This Holiday Season? LifeCare Poll Has the Answers

This release shares the findings of an online poll asking workers to cite their top causes of stress during this past holiday season.

Shelton, CT (PRWEB) January 19, 2009

Holiday stress has many causes but the front-runner in 2008 led the pack by a wide margin, according to a recent online poll by LifeCare® (http://www. lifecare. com), Inc., a leading provider of health and productivity solutions (http://www. lifecare. com/news/index. html) for employers nationwide. Thirty-four percent of respondents cited "expenses" as their number one stressor. The next closest answer was "demands on time," with only half as many respondents.

The poll was conducted throughout the month of December on LifeCare's private web site, where employees of the company's 1,500 client organizations were invited to respond. Here are the full results of the poll:

What is causing you the most stress this holiday season?
Expenses (the cost of gifts, parties, etc.) – 34% Demands on your time/general hustle and bustle of the season – 17% Job security – 10% Too much togetherness – 9% Loneliness – 8% Nothing -- I love the holidays – 8% Balancing work and family time – 4% Not enough togetherness – 4% Travel – 3%

Another three percent cited a variety of other reasons, each representing less than one percent. These included: travel, ill family members and the weather.

"One of the most effective ways we help clients prepare for and cope with the stress of the holiday season is through our seminars," said Peter G. Burki, LifeCare's CEO. "We have literally dozens of seminars that address all of the issues cited by poll respondents -- how to manage your finances and budget more effectively, time management techniques, communication and interpersonal relationships, career management and, of course, stress management skills."

Burki noted that financial seminars are now among LifeCare's most popular offerings. Last year, the company began delivering a series of 15 new seminars created by award-winning journalist and nationally recognized financial expert, Jean Chatzky. The seminars, available exclusively through LifeCare, focus on debt, financial planning and successful money management. They offer practical strategies for reducing debt, living within a budget, shopping for mortgages, improving credit, planning for retirement, investing wisely and more.

Each month, LifeCare posts a poll on its private web site, asking individuals to share their thoughts and opinions on the latest issues and work/life trends. Past polls have addressed topics such as productivity, work/life balance (http://www. lifecare. com/news/connection. html), healthy aging, flexible work arrangements, and child and elder care needs.

About LifeCare®, Inc.
LifeCare offers cost-saving benefits that help clients reduce their most pervasive absenteeism and productivity drains, including child and elder care, caregiving support, health and wellness (http://www. lifecare. com/index. html) issues, and more. For more than two decades, LifeCare has led the work/life industry in the creation of high-quality, results-oriented programs designed to improve clients' bottom line. LifeCare serves 1,500 client companies with 4.5 million individuals within corporations, health plans, government agencies and unions. For more information, visit www. lifecare. com.

Notes to Editors
LifeCare's CEO, Peter G. Burki, is available for interview.
Media contact: Michael Civiello; 203-291-4170

This press release was distributed through eMediawire by Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: www. HRmarketer. com) on behalf of the company listed above.

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