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How many employees could any company afford to lose because of stress?

The answer, of course, should be none: No company wants to lose employees because they find the stress too difficult to manager. But the final number has to be fewer than what Workplace Insights reports: “Over a third of workers have left a job because of the stress it caused them.”

Addressing challenges of stress and mental wellness can be part of a well-run workplace wellness program. And the data show some of the difficulties businesses can face in trying to address the problem.

The piece continues:

• “Women are almost 10 percent more likely to leave because of stress than men, and those aged between 25 to 34-years old were most likely to struggle with workplace stress.”
• “More than half (53 percent) of employees feel too afraid to show signs of stress at work.”
• “More than a quarter (27 percent) think it’ll make them look weak, one in five (18 percent) worry it will affect their career and the remaining 7 percent feel uncomfortable approaching their manager with the problem.”

Further, the International Stress Management Association notes that “11.7 million working days were lost in 2015-16 due to stress, depression or anxiety, according to the Health and Safety Executive.”

Said Carole Spiers, Chair of ISMA UK: ‘Stress can affect performance, both at home and at
work, which can lead to mental health issues.”

Indeed, Workplace Insights quotes an HR professional who outlines just one of the important impacts stress can put on a business — and, it seems, the key role that a well-run workplace wellness program can play in helping recognize and address the situation: “Stress affects each and every one of us at different times and to different degrees. Recognising when someone has moved from a healthy amount of pressure into a stressful situation can be vital in supporting their wellbeing, and in ensuring the performance of your team.”