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The Burden Of Workplace Stress: Ignore And Perish
According to International Labour Organization - ‘the cost of stress amounts to 10% of Britain’s Gross National Product.’ St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co., USA opines that – ‘Problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than are any other life stressors — more so than even financial problems or family problems.’ The organizations are today awakening to the effects of workplace stress on the health of the workers, and consequently, on their own productivity and profitability. According to Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine – ‘Health care expenditures are nearly 50% greater for workers who report high levels of stress.’ Stress and healthThe stress is a defensive response of the body to any stimuli in the environment that it perceives as threatening. The response raises the releases hormones in the body, raises blood pressure, quickens pulse and sharpens the senses. It prepares the person to take action to fend off the perceived threat. It is a normal reaction of the body and goes off on its own once the situation returns to normal. But the body was not designed by nature to endure such situations for prolonged periods. Such situations, if they continue for long, have detrimental effect on the health of a person. The effects of workplace stress are harmful because such situations continue for long periods, and the worker has to endure them day after day. The UK National Work-Stress Network has estimated that - Out of 40.2 million working days lost to work-related illness and injury during 2001-2002, 13.4 million were lost to stress, anxiety or depression. This compares to 12.3 million days lost to musculoskeletal disorders and 7.3 million to injury. The European Union estimates that stress in the workplace affects at least 40 million workers in its 15 Member States and that it costs the European Union at least €20 billion annually. You may add to it millions of dollars lost by industries in legal battles over the claims made by employees for damages due to stress-full conditions at the workplace. The damage could be to the worker’s physical or the mental health. Stress at workplace causes prolonged health problems, which we look at in the next article. Further Reading How Does Workplace Stress Affect Health How Good Are You At Stress And Time Management? Stress Relief Tips & Techniques: Top 10 Stress Relievers 6 Simple Steps to Relaxation Response Aromatherapy for stress relief: How Natural Scents Change Your Moods
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The pervasiveness of stress in the workplace is now more than ever before. Organizations bear its cost in terms of decline in productivity, rising health expenditures and lost working days due to workers’ health problems.