Stress – America’s #1 Health Problem

 Ø43% of all adults suffer adverse health effects due to stress.

 Ø75-90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related complaints or disorders.

 ØStress has been linked to all the leading causes of death including heart disease, cancer, lung ailments,  accidents, cirrhosis, and suicide.

 ØAn estimated 1 million workers are absent on an average workday because of stress related complaints.  Stress is said to be responsible for more than half of the 550,000,000 workdays lost annually because of absenteeism.

 ØA three-year study conducted by a large corporation showed that 60% of employee absences were due to psychological problems such as stress.

 ØNearly half of all American workers suffer from symptoms of burnout, a disabling reaction to stress on the job.

Stress – Getting Worse and More Costly

 ØThe proportion of workers who reported, “feeling highly stressed” more than doubled from 1985 to 1990.

 ØJob stress is estimated to cost U.S. Industry $300 billion annually, as assessed by absenteeism, diminished productivity, employee turnover, direct medical, legal and insurance fees, etc. 60-80% of industrial accidents are due to stress.  Some, like the Exxon Valdez oil spill and Three Mile Island nuclear disaster have direct cleanup costs of billions of dollars, not to mention environmental damage that cannot even be estimated.

 ØWorkers’ compensation awards for job stress, rare two decades ago, have skyrocketed and threaten to bankrupt the system in some states.  California employers shelled out almost $1 billion for medical and legal   fees alone.  Nine out of ten job stress suits are successful, with an average payout more than four times that for   regular injury.

 Ø40% of worker turnover is reportedly due to job related stress.