“Breathe, you are alive!” –Thich Nhat
Hanh
Consider the
following facts:
· 75-90% of visits to primary care physicians
are for stress related problems.
· 89% of adults describe experiencing
"high levels of stress". Over half complained of this at least once
or twice a week, and more than one in four said it occurred on a daily basis.
Most report that they are under much more stress now than five or ten years
ago.
· Stress levels have also risen dramatically in other
demographic groups, including children, teenagers, and the elderly.
· A 1992 United Nations Report, labeled Job
Stress "The 20th Century Disease". More recently,
it was described as a "World Wide Epidemic" by the World Health
Organization. Job Stress is far and away the leading source of stress for adult
Americans.
· 78% of Americans describe their jobs as stressful.
The vast majority also state this has worsened over the past ten years. In
1973, almost 40% of workers reported being "extremely satisfied" with
their jobs. Today, less that 25% fall into this category.
· Job
stress is estimated to cost American industry $200-300 billion annually, as
assessed by absenteeism, diminished productivity, employee turnover, accidents,
direct medical, legal, and insurance fees, Workers' compensation awards, etc.
Put into perspective, that's more than the price for all strikes combined, and
the total net profits of the Fortune 500 companies.
· 60 to 80% of accidents on the job are stress related.
Some, like the Exxon Valdez and the Three Mile Island
nuclear disaster, have direct cleanup costs of billions of dollars, not to
mention environmental damage that cannot even be estimated.
· Workers'
compensation claims for job stress, rare two decades ago, have skyrocketed,
with double digit increases in premiums annually in several states, threatening
the entire system. California employers shelled out almost $1 billion for medical
and legal fees alone - more than some states spend on actual benefits. Nine out
of ten job stress suits were successful, with an average payout more that four
times that for regular injury claims.
· 40% of worker turnover is due to job stress.
The Xerox Corporation estimates that it costs approximately $1 - $1.5 million
to replace a top executive, and average employee turnover costs between $2,000 to $13,000 per individual.
·
There were 111,000 violent workplace incidents reported in 1992, resulting in
750 deaths and a cost to employers of $4.2 billion. Homicides accounted for
almost 20% of the more than six thousand workplace deaths. It was the leading cause of death for
working women. Violent crime and
mass murders in the workplace almost always stem from job stress.
· Recent research has
increasingly confirmed the important role of stress in cardiovascular disease,
cancer, gastrointestinal, skin, neurologic and
emotional disorders, and a host of disorders linked to immune
system disturbances, ranging from the common cold and herpes, to arthritis,
cancer, and AIDS.
· The
National Safety Council estimates that 1 million employees are absent on an average workday because of
stress related problems.
“If you are going to worry,
don’t do it.
If
you are going to do it, don’t worry!”