Stress is Costing Business Big Time
Fairfield, CT, October 22, 2006 --(PR.com)-- Contrary to what many companies may think, a stressed out worker is a less productive worker. And it's costing American business billions. A new book promises to change all that.
The thinking goes like this. Lay off some workers, or put off hiring new ones, let current employees take on the extra load, and you can cut costs and boost productivity. If everyone is stressed out, it means you're getting your money's worth.
That approach is proving to be a shortsighted disaster. The cost of stress to American business is staggering, with estimates ranging from $80 billion to $150 billion annually. Stress causes illnesses, absenteeism, diminished productivity, accidents, mistakes, job dissatisfaction, burnout, high turnover, and soaring health insurance premiums.
In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in July, 69% of workers said job stress is worse than it was a decade ago. Employment and insurance data confirm that up to 80% of US workers feel stress, with 40% viewing their work as very or extremely stressful. The National Safety Council estimates that one million employees are absent each workday as a result of stress. And 60%-90% of all doctor visits are for illnesses or injuries caused by stress.
No surprise, then, that many companies have been fighting the stress epidemic with an arsenal of anti-stress initiatives. But the question remains. If all the stress management programs out there are so effective, why is everybody still stressed out?
Noted author and stress consultant G. Gaynor McTigue believes he knows the answer. "As well-intentioned as these programs may be," says McTigue, "many merely ease the symptoms of stress, rather than root out the causes. They have little lasting effect. Or they deal solely with workplace issues, which are important, but people are stressed in every area of their lives. And it all affects their job performance." He adds that some stress programs are so complex and time-consuming, they're a source of stress in themselves. Workers become frustrated and cynical, tune out and go right back to their costly stressful ways.
To correct these shortcomings, McTigue has written a new book, 400 Ways to Stop Stress Now... and Forever!, which he describes as a self-contained stress management program in a single volume. Solutions are boldly and incisively written, intended to offer immediately productive help for stress wherever it exists: work, home, travel, parenting, relationships, activities, finances, shopping, entertaining, and many other stressful situations. Most importantly, McTigue maintains, they eliminate the causes of stress, reversing the stressful habits and mindsets we develop over the course of our lives. The solutions are indexed by category and numbered for easy reference and review. The book has received several expert endorsements, and many accolades from among the thousands of email subscribers and workshop participants who have field-tested the strategies over several years.
400 Ways to Stop Stress Now...and Forever! can now be ordered direct from the publisher (it will be available in bookstores in 2007). Quantity discounts are available to groups and organizations. To learn more, call 203-254-7789 or visit http://www.pickmeupbooks.com
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The thinking goes like this. Lay off some workers, or put off hiring new ones, let current employees take on the extra load, and you can cut costs and boost productivity. If everyone is stressed out, it means you're getting your money's worth.
That approach is proving to be a shortsighted disaster. The cost of stress to American business is staggering, with estimates ranging from $80 billion to $150 billion annually. Stress causes illnesses, absenteeism, diminished productivity, accidents, mistakes, job dissatisfaction, burnout, high turnover, and soaring health insurance premiums.
In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in July, 69% of workers said job stress is worse than it was a decade ago. Employment and insurance data confirm that up to 80% of US workers feel stress, with 40% viewing their work as very or extremely stressful. The National Safety Council estimates that one million employees are absent each workday as a result of stress. And 60%-90% of all doctor visits are for illnesses or injuries caused by stress.
No surprise, then, that many companies have been fighting the stress epidemic with an arsenal of anti-stress initiatives. But the question remains. If all the stress management programs out there are so effective, why is everybody still stressed out?
Noted author and stress consultant G. Gaynor McTigue believes he knows the answer. "As well-intentioned as these programs may be," says McTigue, "many merely ease the symptoms of stress, rather than root out the causes. They have little lasting effect. Or they deal solely with workplace issues, which are important, but people are stressed in every area of their lives. And it all affects their job performance." He adds that some stress programs are so complex and time-consuming, they're a source of stress in themselves. Workers become frustrated and cynical, tune out and go right back to their costly stressful ways.
To correct these shortcomings, McTigue has written a new book, 400 Ways to Stop Stress Now... and Forever!, which he describes as a self-contained stress management program in a single volume. Solutions are boldly and incisively written, intended to offer immediately productive help for stress wherever it exists: work, home, travel, parenting, relationships, activities, finances, shopping, entertaining, and many other stressful situations. Most importantly, McTigue maintains, they eliminate the causes of stress, reversing the stressful habits and mindsets we develop over the course of our lives. The solutions are indexed by category and numbered for easy reference and review. The book has received several expert endorsements, and many accolades from among the thousands of email subscribers and workshop participants who have field-tested the strategies over several years.
400 Ways to Stop Stress Now...and Forever! can now be ordered direct from the publisher (it will be available in bookstores in 2007). Quantity discounts are available to groups and organizations. To learn more, call 203-254-7789 or visit http://www.pickmeupbooks.com
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Contact
Pick Me Up Books
Jerry McTigue
203-254-7789
www.pickmeupbooks.com
Jerry McTigue
203-254-7789
www.pickmeupbooks.com
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