Businesses that encourage employees to take vacations and enroll in stress-reduction and wellness programs—like yoga or weight management classes—are likely boosting their bottom lines.
So said several business and health experts July 18, 2016 on NPR’s Morning Edition. The story was a follow-up to a recent poll conducted by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and NPR that found that more than four in ten working adults said that stress is a critical health issue they face at work. Stress is known to raise the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and other health problems. Fifty-one percent of those polled said their workplace offered health improvement programs; only 40% said they participated in them.
In addition to wellness programs, firms should pay attention to stress contributors like heavy workloads, said John Quelch, a professor in the Harvard Chan School Department of Health Policy and Management and a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. “The sheer overload that comes from downsizing and outsourcing and asking someone to do two jobs, when previously they had to do one,” is something companies must consider if they’re interested in reducing worker stress, he said at a recent Forum event on the workplace and health held at the School.
Listen to the NPR report: Wellness Programs Take Aim At Workplace Stress
Learn more
Poll: More than four in ten working adults think their work impacts their health (Harvard Chan School/NPR/Robert Wood Johnson press release)
Stressed out at work: What can employers do to create a healthier workplace? (Harvard Chan School Forum webcast)