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About Us Global insights How work stress spills over into real life

How work stress spills over into real life

New insights detailing findings from Work and Worth research.
Five employees around a table discussing workplace benefits.

What the data shows

Work has become an outsized stressor, which can shape how people feel, connect, and show up outside of the office. Work-specific stress now significantly outpaces general life stress, and even moderate levels come with meaningful drops in overall well-being.

Average work-specific stress scores are almost double the national average for general life stress.

  • When work stress increases, overall well-being scores decline—and vice versa.

44% of employees say work stress negatively impacts at least one major area of their life.

  • The most affected areas:
    • Personal time
    • Health and well-being
    • Social and romantic relationships
  • Gen Zers report the highest levels of work stress across every area of their life.

Organizational friction (“things not going my way at work”) is the largest driver of work stress:

  • It’s 1.6x more predictive of well-being decline than a general feeling nervousness.
  • Each unresolved obstacle at work shaves half a point off overall well-being.
  • By the time someone hits “moderate stress,” they’ve already lost 15% of their well-being potential.

Stress from work doesn’t exist in isolation. When employers design the workplace with empathy and clarity, they strengthen the well-being of the people who power their organization.”

Amy Friedrich

President, Benefits and Protection, Principal®

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS10) is a classic stress assessment instrument that has been widely validated and utilized in both research and clinical settings to understand how different situations can affect perceived stress. The questions in the scale (from “never” to “very often”) ask about feelings and thoughts within the last month.

This adapted version from the 10th edition asks respondents specifically how they feel when it comes to work and their job.
Attracting & retaining my workforce
Supporting my employees
Financial planning

The Work and Worth Survey reflects findings from a nationwide study of U.S. employees commissioned by Principal® and conducted by Dynata in November 2025. The survey included 2,001 respondents who were currently employed full-time or part-time, excluding self-employed individuals. The survey incorporated advanced analytics and recognized clinical assessment tools, including the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and a clinical measurement of personal wellbeing. Results represent self-reported perceptions and behaviors of U.S. employees at the time of the survey and may not be generalizable to all workforce populations.

© 2026 Principal Financial Services, Inc., 711 High Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50392.

Principal®, Principal Financial Group®, Principal Asset ManagementSM, and Principal and the logomark design are registered trademarks and service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a Principal Financial Group company, in various countries around the world and may only be used with the permission of Principal Financial Services, Inc.