Cause, Effect and Prevention of
Stress in the Workplace

Stress in the workplace is a serious issue as we can see from many studies and statistics. It negatively affects employee health, which causes a decrease in productivity and profits.

Providing your workforce with means to decrease job stress is beneficial all around.

Improved employee health translates into less absenteeism, increased productivity and a decrease in health insurance claims.

But the task of analyzing, stratagizing and organizing the cause, effect and prevention of stress in the workplace can be daunting. For a traditional wellness program to work, everyone has to be on board and that requires... Effort!

Generally, people are hesitant to make changes but you can guide your employees along the road to Workplace Wellness by starting with a stress management technique that requires absolutely no physical or mental effort on their part.

On Site Chair Massage is THE most convenient way to provide job stress relief. Visit our Workplace Massage page to find out how chair massage can increase energy, alertness and productivity in as little as 10 minutes.

Here are some interesting facts about stress in the workplace and how it translates into actual dollar amounts

• The average direct cost of absenteeism is $3,550 per employee per year

- Watson Wyatt Canadian Staying @ Work Survey

• The annual cost to Canadian companies due to stress-related disorders is $12 billion
  
• Absenteeism due to stress has increased by over 300% since 1995

- Statistics Canada

• 51% of Canadian employees experience a great deal of stress at work. 25% of these employees have been physically ill from workplace stress

- Aventis Healthcare Survey 2002

• 75% to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related complaints 
• up to 80% of on-the-job accidents are stress-related
• 40% of job turnover is due to stress

- American Institute Of Stress

• Stress accounts for $26 billion in medical and disability payments and $95 billion in lost productivity per year 
• Over 50% of lost work days are stress related which keeps about 1 million people per day from attending work

- Occupational Health and Safety news/National Council on Compensation Insurance (USA)

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

- Bureau of Labor Statistics

• 75% of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago

- Princeton Survey Research Association

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

- St.Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co.

• Employees in extreme workplace stress conditions suffer from: more than triple the rate of cardiovascular problems; over five times the rate of colorectal cancer; up to three times the rate of back pain

- Health Canada

...and here is the other side of the coin

• A return on investment of $3.40 for every dollar invested in wellness initiatives as shown by reduced turnover, increased productivity and decreased insurance claims

- Health Canada

• A 70% reduction in malpractice claims in 22 hospitals that implemented stress prevention activities 
• A 50% decline of medication errors in a 700-bed hospital after stress prevention acitvities were implemented 

- Journal of Applied Psychology

Why wait until job stress adversely affects your workforce and compromises performance and productivity. Click here to contact us for more information on how to combat stress in the workplace.