sleeping woman in train at daytime

If you’re wondering what the ramifications of wellness training that doesn’t stick look like, let me share some statistics with you.

According to Entrepreneur.com, the effects of stress costs around $44 billion in the US, 15.1 billion pounds in the UK, and $12.6 billion in Australia due to:

  • Absenteeism
  • Presenteeism (at work, but unproductive)
  • Productivity losses
  • Workplace accidents

High chronic stress affects your cognitive functions, slowing your accuracy, response time, and ability to make critical decisions; it’s been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. There’s also a greater risk of depression compared to the general population, with business failure often associated with suicide risk.

A Huffington Post article cites:

  • 33% of working Americans report chronic work-related stress
  • 79% report not getting enough sleep
  • 69% admit to struggling with concentration as a result of stress and sleep deprivation.
  • These issues cost US businesses $300 billion each year in lost productivity.
  • 44% of employees reported feelings of burnout at work
  • 30% of employees frequently start their workdays feeling tired or low on energy.
  • Insomnia costs companies across the US more than $60 billion annually.

Can burnout be a precursor to reliance on opioids and other illicit drugs?

You bet. More stress accompanies more responsibilities and roles. The demand to overshadow physical and emotional ailments to meet those demands becomes more important than caring for the body over time. After all, with so many plates to spin, who has time to be sick? Who has time to be in pain? You have things to do, goals to meet, people to see, money to make! It’s easy to look at the opioid epidemic and chalk these people up to just wanting to get high, but what if a percentage of these people are only trying to manage the demands of their life the best way they can? Prescription and illicit drugs are an easy outlet to do so. Too easy. As the body’s tolerance increases, more of the drug (whether prescription or otherwise) is needed and has severe consequences in every area of one’s life.

According to the CDC, from 1999 to 2017, more than 702,000 people have died from a drug overdose. In 2017, more than 70,000 people died from drug overdoses, making it a leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. Sixty-eight percent of those deaths involved a prescription or illicit opioid. On average, 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.

So how can bringing in outside help like myself increase your ROI?

PriceWaterhouseCoopers found each dollar spent on workplace health meant a $14.50 return on productivity benefits.

  • 89% of workers at companies that support well-being initiatives are more likely to recommend their company as a good place to work
  • Increase in company culture
  • Increase in company morale
  • Happy employees create happy customers
  • 61% of employees agree that they have made healthier lifestyle choices because of their company’s wellness program
  • Decreased healthcare costs due to less doctor and hospital visits and medication

If you’re intrigued by the possibilities, and you’d like to schedule a time to talk with me, I’m more than happy to answer all of your questions while we carve out a route that’s best for you and your people.

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