According to the American Institute of Stress, job stress costs U.S. businesses more than $300 billion annually due to increased absenteeism, employee turnover, diminished productivity and medical expenses.
Given the current troubled economy and near constant news stream of foreclosures and layoffs, employees may be feeling more anxious and stressed than ever before. Worrying about all of this can cause negative health effects for the employee and lost productivity, as well as higher health costs for the employer. For many employers, it has never been more important to make reducing stress at the office a top priority and to help employees stay healthy in 2012.
A recent study published in the journal BMC Public Health shows that those with high-stress jobs visited physicians 26 percent more often than those with low-stress jobs. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work reported that over half of the 550 million working days lost annually in the U.S. from absenteeism are stress-related. It goes on to say that unanticipated absenteeism is estimated to cost American companies $602/worker/year and the price tag for large employers could approach $3.5 million annually.
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