Strategies for Workplace Stress

Risk & Insurance,  Oct 15, 2000  by William Atkinson

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In survey after survey, employees say they are stressed by work. For example, a study by Northwestern National Life Co. found that 40 percent of workers say their jobs are very or extremely stressful, and 25 percent view their jobs as the No. 1 stressor in their lives.

Yale University in New Haven, Conn., reports that 29 percent of workers report feeling quite a bit or extremely stressed at work. The Families and Work Institute in New York reports that 26 percent of workers say they are often or very often burned out or stressed by work.

And in yet another survey, this one by The Princeton Survey Research Associates in Princeton, N.J., 75 percent of employees believe workers today have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago.

Why should employers be concerned? Stress costs U.S. businesses between $200 billion and $300 billion a year in lost productivity, increased workers' compensation claims, increased turnover, and increased health care costs, according to the American Institute of Stress in Yonkers, N.Y In fact, stress contributes to between 60 percent and 80 percent of all work-related injuries. Between 75 percent and 90 percent of primary care physician visits have stress as a major contributing factor. And it is a major factor in 40 percent of turnover.

ManagedComp, a Waltham, Mass., workers' comp insurer, reports that up to one-third of all workers' compensation claims are attributable to job stress. Chronic job stress can lead to: mood and sleep disturbances, upset stomach and headaches, disturbed relationships with family and friends, and workplace injuries. In addition, over time, stress is believed to have the potential to lead to chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and psychological disorders.

Other surveys support the real effects of worker stress on employers:

* St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance in St. Paul, Minn., notes that problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than any other life stressors, more so than even financial or family problems.

* The Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine adds that health care expenditures are nearly 50 percent greater for workers who report high levels of stress.

* An Ohio State University study found an increased risk of cardiovascular disease among people experiencing even mild stress.

* The National Safety Council in Itasca, Ill., estimates that up to one million employee absences per day are for reasons related to stress.

What's the best way to help employees deal with stress in the workplace? There are actually three approaches: reduce stressors in the workplace; train employees to be more resilient to stress; and help employees cope with stress after the fact (e.g.: massage therapy, employee assistance programs, etc.).

Here, we will focus on the first two, although the third is the least effective, but often the most frequently discussed.

Reduce Stressors

The most effective approach, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) in Washington, is to prevent stressful conditions from entering the workplace as much as possible in the first place. NIOSH has identified six general groupings of job conditions that can lead to worker stress. These are:

1. Design of tasks. These can include heavy workloads; infrequent rest breaks; long work hours; shift work; and/or hectic or routine tasks that have little inherent meaning, do not use worker skills, and provide little sense of control.

"This tends to be the most common and serious cause of workplace stress," reports Steven L. Sauter, chief of the applied psychology and ergonomics branch of NIOSH in Cincinnati, Ohio, "Workers experience stress when they are faced with work overload without having the resources to deal with these demands or without control over their jobs."

2. Management style. This can include lack of participation by workers in decision-making, poor communication, lack of family-friendly policies, etc.

3. Interpersonal relationships. These include a poor social environment and lack of support or help from coworkers and supervisors. "This is also a very common cause of workplace stress," adds Sauter. "Workers can experience stress when they work in unsupportive environments, where peers and supervisors fail to provide adequate technical and emotional support."

4. Work roles. These can include conflicting or uncertain job expectations, too much responsibility, and/or having to wear too many hats.

5. Career concerns. These can include job insecurity; lack of opportunity for growth, advancement or promotion; and/or rapid changes for which workers are unprepared.

6. Environmental conditions. These conditions can include unpleasant or dangerous physical conditions, such as crowding, noise, air pollution, or ergonomics problems.

Encourage Resiliency

Another approach is to train workers in how to be more resilient to situations that could result in stress. This is based on the theory that differences in individual characteristics, such as personality and coping style, are more important in predicting stress than certain job conditions in and of themselves.