The Cost of Stress at Work

Last week I wrote about my only 2022 goal - to focus on what I can control this year. That means putting my health first. The old "put your own oxygen mask on first" rule - which always makes sense when we're looking at a situation involving someone else. Somehow it's harder to see when it's us that's making excuses as to why we just NEED to do one more thing, or say yes, just this once. Again.

When we say “health” most of us think of our physical health, the physical state of our bodies. The health and wellness space is a $1.5 trillion dollar market globally (McKinsey July 2021, Wellness in 2030), getting us to spend money on magic cures to help us lose weight, and workout gear to help us exercise.

Most of us see our health as something we each control individually – as much as we can. We don’t control our genetics, but we are each in charge of our own habits – what we eat, how much we sleep, and how much we exercise. So when we see someone else struggling, we see it as something to do with their lives – genetics, poor health habits, or perhaps difficult family circumstances.

An individual accountability model of health is useful to a certain point. When it comes to our own personal habits, we are ultimately accountable for how we behave. But if we don’t consider the combination of forces impacting the physical and mental health across all aspects of someone’s life, and just compare the healthy habits of one to the unhealthy habits of another, we’re looking at the end of the process without taking into account what has happened prior.

Who is likely to have healthy habits in adulthood?

Person 1 – raised in a loving home by parents with above-average incomes, completed college, extra-curricular activities, access to proper healthcare, has a good job, treated well by their manager, feels a part of the community, is financially stable.

Person 2 – raised in a home with an alcoholic parent, put college on hold to earn money to pay tuition, never had proper dental care, has an ok job but has a controlling manager who is often threatening to fire them. Add on the stress of being a single parent trying to work and raise kids. Always behind on the bills trying to catch up.

Person 3 – Take person 2, and now add on being black, gay, or disabled, or an immigrant struggling with the language. All factors that add barriers to access community resources and support that person 1 accesses easily. Less education. Worse healthcare. Fewer job opportunities. Racial or sexual bias at work and profiling in the community. Stereotypes as to their abilities and "why" they are struggling in their life.

There’s no guarantee that Person 1 has healthy habits. They may be sitting on the couch eating donuts. They may be working 80 hours a week trying to do it all. But they have far fewer stressors from outside forces that increase the likelihood of stress-related health issues. The more stress an individual faces across all areas of their life, the more likely they are to have unhealthy coping habits to deal with the stress – which all lead to poor health outcomes that impact all areas of life.

Who is more likely to be absent from work more frequently - Person 1, 2 or 3?

As described by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, unless the basics of life are taken care of, it’s hard to move up to the next level to take care of ourselves.?What is the cost of our lack of support to help people navigate the stresses we all face in our lives? The cost to us as a society is significant. Research estimates that

poor health reduces global GDP by 15% each year

— about twice the pandemic’s likely negative impact in 2020, the leading causes being mental health, poor sleep and a sedentary lifestyle. (McKinsey, July 2020, Poor health reduces global GDP by 15% each year)

My work environment had a massive influence on my stress levels during my career, and this is where the business community can do a far better job of helping individuals better manage the demands of work and life. For once we are ALL collectively suffering from the same set of challenges. No question many are suffering far worse due to individual factors, but we can all understand the challenges right now as everyone is being impacted in some way by the pandemic. This represents an opportunity to motivate change at every level. We are already seeing a massive push for social change and these will only continue – rightly so. Change in representation and government is needed – but will only go so far.

Change in business practices can have a massive positive impact on the health of the workforce. Defining a clear set of healthy business practices. Showing what good looks like – and showing that it pays. If we can define healthy companies, build metrics to show that it pays, and have outside investors hold management accountable to deliver the results of a healthy workforce, we can drive real change.?

Let me know your thoughts on the role of business in creating and sustaining a healthy workforce.