February 2010 Newsletter Article

High Stress Levels Cost Money

According to the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, health care expenditures are nearly 50% greater for workers who report high levels of stress. Apparently high stress levels at the workplace are running rampant - I recently came across some very interesting statistics on the topic below. If you are reading this newsletter you probably know already that massage is a powerful force in combating this type of stress. Not only does it address the physical toll stress at the workplace takes on your body (hunched backs over the computer, knotted shoulders getting worse after meetings, long hours taking their toll) it addresses the physical component as well – stress, anxiety, fatigue, nervousness, etc. With statistics such as these, it is surprising more companies aren’t offering Corporate Wellness Programs to try and combat the level of stress incurred by employees, while improving their health and productivity. If you think your employer may be open to a Wellness Program (there are many options to chose from) please be sure to contact us.

• 23% of women executives and professionals, and 19% of their male peers, say they feel super-stressed.

Foundation for Integrated Research In Mental Health, 2007

• 62 percent of Americans say work has a significant impact on stress levels.

American Inst. of Stress, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Feb. 2007

• U.S. companies lose between $200-$300 billion a year due to absenteeism, tardiness, burnout, decreased productivity, worker's compensation claims, increased employee turnover, and medical insurance costs resulting from employee work-related stress. 

National Safety Council, Priority Magazine, 1-2/2007

• Stress impacts lives in a dramatic way: About one half of Americans say that stress has a negative impact on both their personal and professional lives. About one-third (31%) of employed adults have difficulty managing work and family responsibilities. Over one third (35%) cite job stress as interfering with their family or personal time.

American Psychological Association Study, 2007

• Issues stemming from workplace stress take up at least 20 percent of a company's payroll, and over $150 billion in U.S. productivity each year.

American Institute of Stress, Feb. 2007

• One in three employees in the United States reports feeling chronically overworked.

Families and Work Institute in New York, Jan, 2007

• Workplace stress is rife in 70% of organizations; The fact that companies are not viewing stress from a scientific, strategic, preventive perspective is extremely worrying;

Human Resources Workplace Stress Survey 2007

• About one-third of workers report high levels of stress, and high levels of stress are associated with substantial increases in health service utilization.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Nov., 2007

• Chronic stress, the kind you experience when the demands of life exceed your ability to cope, boosts the risk of developing ailments ranging from the common cold and gum disease to obesity and heart disease." The costs per year of stress (are): $300 for over-the-counter drugs (e.g., pain relievers and decongestants); $5,600 for physician visits and other out-of-pocket healthcare costs; $375 for high life insurance premiums. The big issue is lost productivity....workers with severe stress miss 23 days of work a year.

Money Magazine, Dec., 2007

• Cumulative exposure to job strain resulted in significant increases in systolic blood pressure among male white-collar workers...eighty percent of executives and managers are stressed; a third of them are highly stressed.

American Journal of Public Health, April 2006

• Workers who clocked more than 51 hours at the office each week were 29 percent more likely to have high blood pressure than those who worked 39 hours or less...

Hypertension Journal, June 2006

• Nearly all past research linking long work hours and high blood pressure has been done among Asian workers, Dr. Haiou Yang of the University of California in Irvine and colleagues note in their report in the journal Hypertension. Large companies have seen per worker heath care costs rise by more than 80 percent since 2000.

Hewett Associates (reported in Atlanta Journal Constitution, June 2005

• Stress costs American businesses about $330 billion every year. This total includes accidents, absenteeism, employee turnover and diminished productivity, as well as direct medical, legal, and insurance costs to business owners.

American Institute of Stress, June 2005

• Research shows that a stressful work environment can affect the amount of employers' budgets allocated to employee health care contributions. Health care expenditures are nearly 50% greater for workers who report high levels of stress.

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, June 2005

• Stress-related costs include absenteeism, turnover, health benefits, workers' compensation claims, tort claims, and presenteeism, known as on-the-job productivity losses.

CIGNA Group Insurance, June 2005

• Studies show that stressful working conditions are actually associated with increased absenteeism, tardiness, and intentions by workers to quit their jobs - all of which have a negative effect on the bottom line objective of a thriving workplace.

(NIOSH) Psychologist4Therapy.Com, June 2005

• An estimated one million workers are absent every day due to stress. This unanticipated absenteeism is estimated to cost American companies $602.00 per worker per year.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), April 2005

• Health care expenditures are 50% greater for workers reporting high levels of stress.

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, March 2005

• Three-fourths of employees believe the worker has more on the-job-stress than a generation ago and work is the number one source of stressing their lives.

Princeton Survey Research Association, August 2004

• Stress surfaces in morale, which has a tremendous impact on how hard employees work. They work more, but less effectively.

Carol Kauffman, psychologist, Harvard Medical School July 2004

• Workers who must take time off from work because of stress, anxiety, or a related disorder will be off the job for about 20 days.

Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2004

• Chicago-based employee assistance provider ComPsych experienced a 23% increase in crisis- and stress-counseling requests from clients in the first quarter.

USA Today, July 2003

• Nearly 35% of workers say they've seen an increase in anxiety and stress-related physical ailments in their workplace in the last year. 27% report a rise in emotional problems such as insomnia and depression.

The Marlin Co., CT-based workplace communications firm, July 2003

• More than 2000 workers found ongoing work stress and long hours had a negative effect on physical and mental health.

University of North Iowa survey July 2003

• One-fourth of employees view their job as the number one stressor in their life and 40% report their job is very or extremely stressful.

Northwestern National Life

• Problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than are any other life stressor - more so than even financial or family problems.

St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co.

• 26% of workers are often or very often burned out or stressed out by their work.

Families and Work Institute

• 60-90 percent of medical problems are associated with stress.

Perkins, Harvard Business Review

• Forty percent of job turnover is related to stress.

Bureau of National Affairs

• 45 percent of corporate after tax profits are spent on health benefits.

Foster Higgins Co., NJ insurance company