Overalls, a workplace productivity platform, has released its 2024 year-in-review report, highlighting the substantial impact of life stressors on employee focus and efficiency. Based on data from over 23,000 employee support requests and more than 250,000 data points, the report quantifies the productivity lost due to personal distractions and how businesses can reclaim lost time.
Key Findings: Productivity Disruptions and Time Lost
The report identifies common life stressors—such as navigating medical insurance, moving, financial concerns, and travel—that divert employees from work responsibilities. Employees dealing with these stressors lose an average of 2.3 hours per incident, affecting business efficiency.
Among the top employee support requests received by Overalls in 2024:
- Medical & Benefits – 21%
- Wildcard (miscellaneous life stressors) – 20%
- Home & Moving – 21%
- Travel – 11%
- Finances – 9%
On average, Overalls users saved:
- 3.2 hours on health and well-being tasks
- 3.2 hours on financial matters
- 3.3 hours on caregiving responsibilities
- 2.8 hours on pet care
- 2.6 hours on navigating employee benefits
By addressing these disruptions, businesses can redirect lost time toward operational growth and innovation.
Workplace Impact: Addressing Stressors to Improve Efficiency
The report underscores that personal stressors are deeply embedded within work hours, with 91% of employee requests occurring on weekdays, peaking between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. This highlights the challenge businesses face in maintaining productivity as employees juggle personal and professional responsibilities.
“Life stressors aren’t just personal, in aggregate, they represent a tremendous loss of productivity. Employees juggling life-tasks, such as finding a medical specialist or coordinating a move during the workday, lose hours of focus and productivity,” said Jon Cooper, Founder and CEO of Overalls.
Demographic Insights: Stressors Affect All Employees
The report also provides insights into how life stressors vary across different employee demographics, reinforcing the need for tailored employer support:
- Young Families: Medical/Employer Benefits (20%), Wildcard (20%), Home/Moving (21%)
- Single Parents: Home/Moving (26%), Family (14%), Finances (12%)
- Singles Without Children: Medical/Employer Benefits (26%), Home/Moving (22%), Wildcard (19%)
- New Hires: Wildcard (27%), Medical/Employer Benefits (23%), Finances (13%)
Image: Envato
