THE COSTS OF STRESS AT WORK AND HOME ARE ENORMOUS BUT CAN BE HELPED BY AN EAP
- The incidence of dangerously high levels of stress has reached epidemic proportions in the United States -- 26% of adult Americans reported being on the verge of a serious nervous breakdown.
- Stress is a major cause of strokes, heart attacks, high blood pressure and ulcers, as well as depression, eating disorders and suicide.
- According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median absence from work for cases of occupational stress was 23 days in 1997--more than four times that of all occupational injuries and illnesses.
- 60% of U.S. workers said they've experienced stress-related problems.
- Of 750 U.S. employees from 200 companies surveyed, 44% say their jobs are more stressful than they were one year ago, and 11% report they have either left a job or plan to leave soon.
- Northwestern Life Insurance calculates that the average cost of rehabilitating an employee disabled because of stress was $1,925. If he or she is not rehabilitated, companies need to hold in reserve an average of $73,270 or more to cover disability payments for employees disabled by job-related stress.
Benefits:
- Early intervention via an employee assistance program can help employers address problems related to stress.
- In California, the average cost of EAP treatment and consultation for work-stress cases in 1990 was $195 per case, compared to the California average stress-claim cost of $15,700.
