Job Stress and Its Costs

A wise employer will reduce workplace stress and see the business benefit. In his book How to Stop Worry and Start Living Dale Carnegie wrote, “Remind yourself of the exorbitant price you can pay for worry in terms of your health.” (Carnegie, 1944). This advice from 66 years ago remains valuable in present day America as we seek to reduce the high cost of health care. Medical and psychological experts caution us to avoid the negative impacts of worry and stress. A happy and healthy workforce has fewer turnovers, less absenteeism, and is a productive workforce, and while we cannot be totally free of stress on the job there are ways to reduce its negative impact on people. Since 1947 the number of mental health care professionals has more than quintupled in America. In the current workforce, people are three times more likely to suffer from depression than were their grandparents who suffered through the Great Depression. Worker’s compensation claims are three times what they were in 1980 with estimated losses to the U.S. economy of $150,000,000,000 (Theorell, 1909). Theorell contends that it is not enough to address the symptoms of stress related illness with therapies alone. Business and industry must address workplace climate to remove stressors that rob employees of good health and employers of their most precious asset, people. For without people what business can survive? Innovations in the workplace that reduce the risks of illness related to stress also contribute to the profitability of the business when skills development, creativity, and quality are viewed in a holistic manner.

One approach to addressing stress at its source is to promote healthy employee engagement on the job through changing the psychosocial climate. When an employee experiences emotional burnout on the job it becomes viral. In a 2000 study it was observed that teachers who spent time comparing stories about students with difficult behavior problems found themselves using each other’s complaints to justify their own uncaring attitudes (Bakker and Schaufeli, 2000). Coworkers have a tendency to identify socially with each other and take on each other’s complaints. In a 1992 study it was discovered that nurses with high need to identify with others, and perceiving emotional burnout in coworkers were found to be more susceptible to burnout than their less socially inclined colleagues. To improve this situation an employer can improve the psychosocial climate of the workplace through practices that socially engage employees in a constructive manner.

To buffer the effects of a viral case of burnout, create a positive climate in the workplace through teams or workgroups within which there are employees capable of offering support to group members during times of high stress. And allow them to innovate, and engage in discovering creative ways of removing stressors from the work environment (Beehr, 1995). The result of another study recommends that employees be engaged in a team effort so as to improve attitudes, communicate optimism, and promote pro-active behaviors that improve mental health and productivity (Bakker, 2006). When colleagues are engaged in solving problems as a team, the causes of stress may be addressed, not just the symptoms.

Consider also the cost to self-medicating employees, their families, and employers when workplace stress is left uncontrolled. For example, 73.6% of U.S. workforce use alcohol and 30.6% drink enough to get intoxicated. Studies have shown that on high stress days light to moderate alcohol users, (not abusers) will self medicate themselves and are twice as likely to miss work the next day. Add to this the increased risk of alcohol related problems ranging from violence to multiple health issues and one sees the value of improving the psychosocial climate of the office or factory. From a managerial perspective removing the causes of workplace stress becomes a critical issue (Liu, 2009).

Employers have a choice; bear the costs of employee turnover, absenteeism, lost production, and higher health insurance premiums due to increased claims. Or improve the climate of the workplace by engaging employees in the process of making the company stronger and healthier. Give them the tools and opportunity to support each other in teams and workgroups that remove business stressors, innovate, and prevent viral outbreaks of negative attitudes. Expect the bottom line to improve, and more importantly gain the satisfaction of knowing that your workforce is healthier.

References:

Bakker, A.B. and Schaufeli, W.B. (2000), "Burnout contagion processes among teachers", Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 30 No. 11, pp. 2289-308. Retrieved April 23, 2010, from ProQuest Grand Canyon University Library

Bakker, A.B., Van Emmerik, I.J.H. and Euwema, M.C. (2006), "Crossover of burnout and engagement in work teams", Work and Occupations, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 464-89. Retrieved April 25, 2010, from ProQuest Psychology Journals.

Liu, S., Wang, M., Zhan, Y., & Shi, J.. (2009). Daily Work Stress and Alcohol Use:. Personnel Psychology, 62(3), 575-597. Retrieved April 25, 2010, from ProQuest Psychology Journals. (Document ID: 1859360291).
TÖres Theorell - author, Robert Karasek (1990), Healthy Work: Stress, Productivity, and the Reconstruction of Working Life., Basic Books. New York. Retrieved April 23, 2010, from: Questia Media America, Inc. www.questia.com