Archive for July, 2012

At The Oxygen Plan, we have been working to communicate and educate employers about the adverse impact of stress on employee health as well as the associated costs to the employer. As examples, here are some our favorite and, by now, familiar yet always stunning statistics:

• Stress costs US employers $4 Billion per year, or 13% of GDP
• This translates to approximately $5000/employee/year (actual estimate is $4888)
• Stress is responsible for 70-95% of physician visits
• Stress is linked to the 6 leading causes of death
• Stress is a significant risk factor of a myriad of other health conditions and chronic diseases, all of which compound health care costs and erode employee engagement & profitability.

That’s why this morning, on the Today Show, we were glad to see a segment on stress, further emphasizing the importance of addressing stress in our lives:

• People in the US spend approximately $800 million per year on anti-anxiety medications
• In the US, 1 million employees miss work every day due to stress
• Stress can make your “real” or biological age as much as 32 years older than your chronological age, largely due to the stress hormone, cortisol
• Chronic stress causes brain cells to deteriorate and die, contributing problems with memory, attention and concentration.

Take a look at this clip from the Today Show

So, more bad news. But as we at The Oxygen Plan emphasize even more – also highlighted on the Today Show – the good news is that individuals can reverse and minimize these effects on health by understanding how stress impacts health, measuring that impact, then taking steps to better manage that stress. Employers can dramatically improve their bottom line by doing the same for their employees.

Posted in Stress Test, Stress and Your Health, Work Stress |