An Alarming Amount Of People Find Their Workplace Stressful And Hostile

If you happen to work in a happy, supportive workplace with kind people, consider yourself lucky, because that's not the reality for a significant chunk of workers in the U.S. According to a new study, many people consider their place of work to be grueling, stressful and hostile.

The study, which was conducted by RAND Corporation, Harvard Medical School and the University of California, Los Angeles, and surveyed 3,066 adults in the U.S., found that over 50 percent of Americans report being exposed to unpleasant and hazardous working conditions. Among this 50 percent, one-fifth, which researchers say is a "disturbingly high" fraction, report that their workplace is hostile or threatening. The type of hostility seems to vary by gender and age, with younger and prime-aged women more likely to encounter unwanted sexual attention, and younger men more likely to deal with verbal abuse.

The findings also revealed that many Americans seem to feel like their job is too demanding, both physically and mentally. One in four Americans reports not having enough time to do their work, and almost three-fourths say they deal with intense or repetitive physical exertion in the workplace at least 25 percent of the time.

The lack of work-life balance and flex seemed to be problematic too. About 50 percent say that their jobs often seep into their personal lives, leading them to do some work in their free time so they can get everything done. As for telecommuting, it looks like the U.S. workplace still has a long way to go, since 78 percent of workers say they're expected to show up to their office during regular business hours.