Christian employees are reportedly less plagued by stress than their non-Christian counterparts, a study by Reventure has found.
Conducted in April this year, and spanning across a nationally representative sample of 1,001 employed Australian adults, the study findings revealed that out of the 321 people who identified themselves as church-going Christians, 66% were satisfied by the amount of stress in their lives. The corresponding figure for the general population stood at 61%.
The sample chosen for the survey was well-balanced with respect to both gender and age. 57% of the sample consisted of full-time employees, 33% comprised of part-time employees, while the remaining 10% was made up of self-employed or independent workers.
The sample also included a well-planned representation of workplace sectors, including 40% professional office workers, 12% working in retail, 11% working from home, 9% in education, 6% in a health setting.
Titled 'The State of Work in Australia,' the survey was initiated and carried out by Reventure, utilising the Barna Group. Reventure specialises in faith and work research, and the Barna Group is a globally recognised polling firm.
Dr. Lindsay McMillan, Reventure's Managing Director, explains the outcome is likely due to the "higher level of purpose and meaning" that Christians find in their work, which could offset some of the stressful nature of their work.
"Satisfaction with stress levels correlates closely to with job satisfaction," Dr. McMillan stated, going on to reveal an unexpected outcome that Christians generally have a higher physical health rating than their colleagues at 52% versus 39%.
"This appreciation of their physical health is one factor that might assist in dealing with unhealthy stress at work. Christian workers follow similar overall trends in stress-mitigation activities, with the clear exception of much higher engagement in spiritual activities such as prayer and faith goals. These indicate that the dissatisfied and highly stressed are turning to spiritual activities even more," she notes.
The organisation's press release also revealed that 59% of Christian workers ranked their mental health as excellent or very good, compared to 48% for other workers.
Reventure is set to published additional findings focusing on the work-life balance of Christian and non-Christian workers, how faith helps in the workplace and church resources for members who work, and on Christians being open about their faith at work.