While some employers believe employee stress to be a “necessary evil” to remain productive and profitable in today’s global economy, research indicates otherwise.
In the United States, 26 to 40 percent of employees report being extremely stressed or burned out; in the European Union, 28 percent of employees reported feeling stressed at work; and in Japan, 63 percent of employees reported serious work anxiety or stress.
Stress is associated with increased absenteeism, tardiness, and intentions to quit, and decreased motivation, productivity, and health—all of which impact the corporate bottom line.These impacts are estimated to cost $50 to $100 billion a year in the United States alone while costing $6 billion in Canada. Worldwide, these costs could total up to $187 billion, with 70 to 90 percent of those relating to productivity costs.
Ongoing stress can also contribute to longer-term issues and it's even been found that stress could contribute up to 90 percent of health symptoms and disorders.Long-term stress can manifest as psychological disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder); emotional disturbances (e.g., dissatisfaction, fatigue, tension); maladaptive behaviours (e.g., aggression, substance abuse, accidents, injury, suicide); physical illnesses (e.g., cardiovascular disease, cancer, ulcers, decreased immune system, neuroendocrine disorders, autonomous nervous systems, blood pressure, blood lipids, uric acid); and cognitive impairments (e.g., sleep disorders).
These long-term consequences have incremental impacts on corporate profitability. For example, increased use of short- and long-term sick leave and temporary or permanent replacement and retraining of skilled employees costs Canada $3.5 billion annually and mental illness, overall, costs $14 billion. In the United States, depression alone costs $30 to $44 billion due to absenteeism, loss of productivity, and other workplace behaviours, and it racks up €118 billion in total costs for the European Union annually.
It's time to re-think overworking yourself or your employees to get greater productivity and realize that in the long run, it will lead to lower productivity as well as many other consequences—including hurting profitability. Now it's time to re-focus on engagement, motivation, and purpose.
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