Under Pressure! The Cost of the U.S. Employee Stress Epidemic

At some point or another, every professional encounters some degree of work-related stress on the job. We encounter all different kinds of stress in our daily lives; paying the bills, caring for our families, keeping up with our homes. A little bit of stress does the body good, keeping us motivated and on-the-go. However, when stress goes from mild to severe, both workers and their companies can suffer consequences—costing American companies more in losses than you could imagine.

A telephone survey of 1,019 employed adults found that a whopping 83% of Americans are stressed by at least one thing at work—a 10% increase in stressed workers since 2012. Another survey by APA’s center for Organizational Excellence found that one-third of those Americans experience chronic work stress. The numbers show that the amount and intensity of workplace stress continues to increase, even with an improving economy.

Unfortunately, Employee Stress is Something to Stress About

So what’s all the commotion about this through-the-roof number of stressed employees? The bottom line is that, according to The World Health Organization , stress costs American businesses between $200 and $300 billion dollars in losses each year. This number is estimated as a result of higher medical and insurance costs, reduced productivity levels, employee absenteeism and turnover.

For example, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has found that job stress causes longer periods of employee disability than any other kinds of work-related illnesses or injuries do. Workers with high-stress jobs visit physicians 26% more often than those with low-stress jobs. With estimates like these, it’s imperative for employers to take the stress epidemic seriously and pinpoint potential stressors in their work environment that may be causing employees to suffer.

What Causes Extreme Employee Stress?

While employees experience several different stress triggers, a study by Harris Interactive and Everest College has found the leading causes of tension in the workplace:

• For the third year in a row, workers were the most stressed out by their compensation, or lack thereof (14% of participants)
• A close tie with compensation, 14% of employees were most stressed by an unreasonable workload—a 5% increase of stressed workers from the year before
• 11% of employees were most tense because of unfavorable coworkers in the workplace
• 11% were most stressed from commuting pains
• 8% suffer because they don’t enjoy working in a job that isn’t a chosen career path
• 7% suffer from poor work-life balance
• 6% fear they will never advance in their profession
• 4% fear being fired or laid-off

The above findings—especially unfavorable compensation and unmanageable workload—may be attributed to aftershock of the recession. Those who worked through the recession experienced companies downsizing firsthand, placing extra pressure on employees to take on a heavier workload with fewer resources. While companies are starting to hire again, post-recession fear still comes into play, causing employers to have the tendency to accomplish more with fewer resources. If this becomes the new norm for the American workforce, the prominence of workplace stress may continue to increase in years to come.

How to Reduce Employee Stress

Some industries are more hectic to work in than others, but there are several ways to help reduce stress in all professions before it gets out of control. Some easy ways are encouraging employees to take their vacation time and promoting a positive work environment.

To learn more about reducing employee stress, click below to read our latest article “Four Ways to Squash Employee Stress”. Trust us—your employees will not only appreciate it—they’ll be happier, healthier and more productive, too!