Facts about Workplace Stress

 

Workplace stress costs the nation more than $300 billion each year in health care, missed work and stress reduction efforts.

(Source: American Institute of Stress)

Only 45 percent (Source: BLS) of private-sector employees are covered by or participate in employer-sponsored programs, employers who provide health insurance benefits experienced on average cost of $3,80 per hour for participating employees in 2003.  That cost has more than doubled in four years. (Source: Employment Policy Foundation, Employment Trends)

1 out of 5 workers are at risk for stress related health problems.

(Source: LLuminari® Landmark Study)

1 in 10 are so tired at the end of the work day that they do not enjoy their non-work time. (Source: LLuminari® Landmark Study)

1 in 5 stated that their work regularly interfered with their responsibilities at home and kept them from spending time with their family.

(Source: LLuminari® Landmark Study)

Workers who report they are stressed incur health care costs that are 46 percent higher, or $600 more per person, than other employees.

(Source: NIOSH)

The risk of a heart attack doubled among permanent after a major round of downsizing, with the risk growing to five times normal after four years. (British Medical Journal, Feb 2004)

The indirect costs of diabetes are estimated to be $40 billion in 2002. In 2002, diabetes accounted for a loss of nearly 88 million disability days and 176,000 cases of permanent disability were caused by diabetes, at a cost of $7.5 billion.

The cost of lost productivity related to obesity (BMI > 30) among Americans ages 17–64 is $3.9 billion. This value considers the following annual numbers (for 1994):

  • Workdays lost related to obesity: 39.3 million
  • Physician office visits related to obesity: 62.7 million
  • Restricted activity days related to obesity: 239.0 million
  • Bed-days related to obesity: 89.5 million

Alcoholism causes 500 million lost work days annually. Absenteeism among alcoholics or problem drinkers is 3.8 to 8.3 times greater than normal (Bernstein & Mahoney, op. cit.) and up to 16 times greater among all employees with alcohol and other drug-related problems. (US Department of Labor)

Family members of alcoholics and substance users use ten times as much sick leave and have higher than average health care claims than family members of non alcoholic and substance using families. (HSS and NCADD Fact Sheet)

Up to 40 percent of industrial fatalities can be linked to alcohol use. Forty-seven percent of all industrial injuries are attributed to alcohol use. (NCADD Fact Sheet)