The last month of survey and research results sent out over the ResponseSource Press Release Wire focused yet again on the stresses of modern life and work in this ultra-stressful year of 2021.

If you’re looking for numbers on childcare, pet care, how flexible working can help out working mums and what one in ten of us are willing to do to cope with stress at the office, you’ve come to the right place…

Home life

Not being heard is incredibly annoying, but a loved one denying that they didn’t hear a word you just said can be particularly infuriating. If you’re experiencing this with a parent, a friend, or a colleague, you’re certainly not alone. A third of British people believe they know someone who is in denial about their hearing loss. Oticon’s study of 2,000 adults found that 40% believe their parents have trouble hearing but won’t admit it, while 18% think a colleague is struggling to hear them. Read more here.

Something difficult to hear – childcare is getting more expensive. According to research from Nannytax, the cost of employing a nanny in London and the Home Counties has risen by 19% over the last year. Reasons for the rise from 2019’s hourly rate of  £11.15 an hour to this year’s £13.26 are said to include a shortage of nannies due to Brexit, ongoing demands for flexible childcare and families leaving the capital because of the pandemic. 64% of nannies continued to work between April 2020 and April 2021 without any periods of furlough. Read more here.

One good thing about lockdowns 1 to 3 in the UK – there were more opportunities for people to finally get the cat/dog/rabbit/pogona companion they’ve always wanted. Pet ownership has increased by 11% – that’s 3.2 million households – in the UK during the COVID-19 crisis. The value of the pet care market in Great Britain is expected to increase by £2.1 billion by 2023, a 25% increase since 2018. Biggest trends in the sector? Grooming products, raw and fresh food diets, natural products and supplements and, hopefully, lots of happy animals. Read more here.  

Work life

Quinyx’s international study: State of the Deskless Workforce has found that over half (58%) of paid carers, supermarket cashiers, restaurant staff and warehouse workers aged 18-24 have thought about quitting their job due to unhappy work environments. 50% believe their employer sees them as a disposable resource, 44% have felt pressured into taking unwanted shifts by colleagues and 53% have missed holidays and social events because of work commitments. For some more encouraging numbers – 30% of those surveyed in the UK said that their employers are supporting them to earn a promotion. Read more here.

Working mums are feeling cautiously optimistic about the flexible work options now available to them, according to a new study. As the pandemic has forced companies across the globe to offer more than office-based 9-to-5 work patterns, 73% of working mums are confident that more flexible jobs will be advertised, with three-quarters more likely to change jobs as a result. The workingmums.co.uk annual survey also shows the impact a lack of flexibility has had on the career paths of working parents – 25% of those surveyed believe it has held them back in the past and 53% have turned down jobs that were too inflexible. Read more here.

And we finish with some scary, but perhaps unsurprising numbers – 1 in 10 employees are willing to take prescription drugs to cope with strain from their working environments. New research from the University of Cologne also shows that 3% of workers have already had to do so. Professors Myriam Baum, Mareike Reimann and Sebastian Sattler found that stresses including overtime, shift work, job insecurity, lack of resources and social support, and leadership responsibilities made it more likely for employees to rely on drugs to enhance their cognitive function while working. Read more here, and then maybe consider getting a pet, if you’ve got flexibility, time and the finest pet foods available – sounds like we all deserve something nice this month.

We provide these as a jumping-off point for your own research and you should perform your own checks on any of these stories – a few tips in this post. If you’d like to source experts, further information or case studies for any of these topics or something else you’re working on, head to the (free) Journalist Enquiry Service to save hours of research and expand your network of sources.