What’s the answer to the stress epidemic?

These days, we hear references to wellbeing all the time. There are frequent discussions about work-life balance at social gatherings. Most people can relate to stress in the workplace and in their private lives. In fact, new statistics show that 80% of adults report feeling stressed at work.

You would think that as our quality of life improves, people would be happier and generally less stressed. More people have better access to far higher quality housing, healthcare and food than we did in past generations. Many of us can afford more ‘toys’ - the flat screen TVs, household appliances and the advanced technology that gives us full access to our loved ones, anytime, anyplace. Surely, we should be happy, shouldn’t we?

Back in 1992, a United Nations report referred to stress as the “20th century epidemic”. In fact, stress is now a larger issue costing us more than ever before. A key reason for this is the lack of downtime in our lives, whether that’s in our home life, social life, school or workplace. We are now a 24/7 world, with many businesses operating seven days a week. Sundays and public holidays are no longer days of rest, like they were in the past. The world has become more competitive, with cost-cutting reviews being commonplace in business. In addition, many full-time roles have been replaced with part-time, casual and contract labour, resulting in job insecurity, and irregular and inconsistent working hours.

Technology itself could be one of the biggest contributors to stress. People are now contactable around the clock and this means many of us don’t schedule in ‘quiet time’. We read text messages, tweets, Facebook updates and emails on the go. Discussion around addiction to technology is commonplace, especially among the younger generation.

The cost of workplace stress

A 1996 survey by the World Health Organization (WHO) suggested stress was a “worldwide epidemic” and in a 2012 report put the cost of stress to American businesses alone at a staggering US$300 billion a year. Another recent analysis (Riga, 2006) noted that 20% of the payroll of a typical American company goes towards addressing stress-related problems.

A 2007 study by the American Psychology Association found that 52% of employees had searched for a new job or left a job on the basis of their perceived workplace stress (Le Fevre & Kolt, 2006).

In Australia, figures show that while compensation claims made by Australian employees fell significantly between 1996 and 2004, the number of stress-related claims almost doubled (Australian Safety and Compensation Council, 2007). Stress-related absenteeism and presenteeism is estimated to cost the Australian economy $14.8 billion per year (1.78% of GDP). Presenteeism is defined as physically attending work without being fully present ie, lacking in concentration, motivation etc. Presenteeism is often associated with ‘time wasting’ while at work.

The CFO dilemma

Organisations are recognising that stress in the workplace costs money. More than ever before, CFOs are being asked to allocate funds towards the wellbeing of employees.

Traditionally, wellbeing interventions in the workplace have targeted behaviour - eating well, getting enough sleep, exercising, limiting alcohol intake and quitting smoking. However, research also suggests that the impact of job stress depends on an employee’s personality attributes, such as the ability to cope with pressure, as well as job factors and aspects of the work environment.

As our pace of living is likely to become even faster as technology evolves, the answer to the ‘stress epidemic’ could therefore be to increase individuals’ resilience and provide them with the tools to cope under pressure.

Taking employee wellbeing to the next level

In light of this epidemic, psychologists are discovering our brain is not geared for optimal performance under high levels of stress and this is when our wellbeing suffers the most.

NeuroWellbeing is the science behind optimal wellbeing from a brain perspective. It focuses on the cognitive ability to be resilient in the face of adversity, to remain confident during periods of uncertainty and to maintain a positive and optimistic outlook, regardless of external factors that are beyond our control.

Sentis has recognised the power of resilience and NeuroWellbeing, and has dedicated a whole division to it - called Sentis Genesis. The company’s wellMIND process incorporates NeuroWellbeing into interventions targeted at the individual and organisational levels to increase employee wellbeing and to reduce the impact of stress-related costs to the business.