Unpredictability has become the main cause of stress for Russians at work

Russians cited a general sense of instability and unpredictability as the main cause of workplace stress in 2026, which 41% of the surveyed employees of Russian companies worry about. Such statistics were provided on June 10 by an online recruiting service. hh.ru and the psychological platform Alter.

The top five most frequent sources of nervous tension also included relationships with management (40%), the atmosphere in the team (the share increased from 30% last year to 35% this year), the volume of tasks (decreased from 32% to 27%) and tight deadlines (18%). The results of the survey were published by "Газета.Ru ".

"The survey also showed that the proportion of employees who believe that constant stress can lead to dismissal has dropped to its lowest level in five years, from 92% to 79%. This can be interpreted in different ways. On the one hand, people could really partially adapt to a high level of stress," said Anastasia Chertkova, clinical psychologist and clinical director of the Alter platform.

She stressed that lately, chronic stress has gradually begun to be perceived as the "norm" of modern work.

"On the other hand, an economic factor cannot be excluded: during periods of instability, employees may be more afraid of losing their jobs and therefore are willing to tolerate a higher level of psychological distress," the specialist suggested.

As for ways to deal with stress, sleep is in the lead, although its popularity has fallen to a five—year low, from 62% in 2021 to 49% this year. In second place are conversations with loved ones (a decrease from 48% to 36%). This is followed by sports (26%), food (22%) and smoking — the only method that has shown an increase in five years (from 14 to 19%), which has displaced meditation from the top.

The psychologist noted that the decline in the popularity of sleep and communication with loved ones may indicate the depletion of internal resources and lack of time to recover, while the increase in smoking indicates a desire for quick and affordable ways to relieve stress. At the same time, she called the increase in the proportion of people involved in sports a positive signal: some people are developing a more active and body-oriented approach to dealing with stress, and physical activity really helps to reduce anxiety and reduce the risk of professional burnout.

The study also revealed gender differences: women are more likely to share their experiences with their relatives, meditate and turn to psychotherapy, while men exercise and drink alcohol. Young people aged 18-24 sleep more than others, drink less often, but actively "seize" stress and smoke. Alcohol is most popular in the 35-44 age group. 1.5 thousand Russians took part in the survey.

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Ksenia Solopanova, a practicing clinical psychologist, said on June 2 that managers can use feelings of guilt, fear of dismissal, alternating praise and criticism, pressure from authority, or other manipulations towards their employees. The expert recommended in such cases to transfer communication from the emotional plane to the specifics, for example, to record agreements in writing and ask clarifying questions.