Health and Safety: Stressed-out workers costing economy $30 billion a year
Published by Patrick May 1st, 2008 in Health & Safety Tags: health-and-safety.source: Canwest News Services, via Anne Marie Sleeman, UEW 20729
OTTAWA - Canadians are increasingly stressed and depressed on the job, and it is costing the economy and society dearly, says a study released Thursday by Desjardins Financial Security.
According to the results, 83 per cent of Canadians report having shown up for work while sick or exhausted, and did so an average of six times in the past year.
Another 89 per cent of the 1,594 adults interviewed for the survey believe incidences of stress-related mental-health problems such as burnout, depression and anxiety have been increasing over the years.
All this is costing the economy $30 billion a year, says a 2005 study produced by the journal Chronic Diseases in Canada, quoted in the Desjardins report.
“It is estimated that more than two million employees in Canada suffer mental illness at any given time,” said Taylor Alexander, chief executive of the Canadian Mental Health Association. “The economic, social and personal impact of mentally unhealthy workplaces is staggering.”
“Employers must do more to promote a healthy work/life balance, otherwise they, their workers, our economy and society will suffer serious consequences.”
Among those consequences is the stress placed on the health-care system through the relationship between depression and heart disease, diabetes and autoimmune disorders.
The Desjardins study cites numbers produced by the Conference Board of Canada showing that absenteeism rates for workers with a high degree of stress was double than of those with little stress.
Employees suffering clinical depression are off the job an average of 40 days, the study said, and mental health claims, particularly those relating to depression, are the fastest growing category for days lost to disability in Canada.
Yet companies are failing to realize the toll this is taking, says the CMHA. By not addressing these problems in the workplace, they are incurring increased days lost, reduced productivity, and higher disability and benefit costs.
“Even if each person is responsible for his or her own health, these results should prompt employers to take a close look at the reality of their own workplaces,” said Alain Thauvette, senior vice-president of group and business insurance for Desjardins.
The CMHA advises employers consider several steps, including:
- Offering flexible hours;
- Allowing workers to work from home;
- Permitting those returning from leave to gradually build up to a full-time schedule;
- Training managers on how to support work/life balance;
- Encouraging staff to stay home with sick children or elderly relatives when needed;
- Eliminating unnecessary meetings;
- Communicating expectations clearly to staff;
- Allowing staff to control their own priorities as much as possible.