Why should business owners be interested in or concerned with employee stress?
One reason may be that employers are realizing that policies that benefit employee health can also benefit the bottom line. Some studies cite that stress-related illnesses are accountable for 60 percent of all absences from work. Absenteeism and an increasing number of workers who quit their jobs obviously impact the bottom line. Stress may also have hidden costs, such as increases in workers’ compensation claims, an increase in employee errors and a decrease in customer service. Today, many employers are taking steps to reduce workplace stress. There is evidence that 50 percent of all large companies provide some sort of stress management training for their work force. Frequently, smaller companies employ the services of employee assistance programs (EAPs) to educate employees about stress management. The World Health Organization has predicted that by 2020, stress will be the major cause of workplace illness. Can stress management programs be effective in reducing stress? There is ev
