It causes more days that people are not in work and productive than any other single factor. What an astounding figure -- my mind boggles: $300 billion, or $7,500 per employee, is spent annually in America on stress-related compensation claims, decreased productivity, absenteeism, health insurance costs, direct medical expenses (almost 50% higher for workers who report stress), and employee turnover. To compensate for the loss in productivity, organizations are driving people harder to remain competitive and successful. This, naturally, increases the stress even more on the personnel. What a horrible situation. Now, job stress is even called "an epidemic."
This situation saddens me greatly. Will American society continue to break down so greatly that it can no longer be cohesive? Where people will rely only on their individual (and selfish) basic needs (as this social scientist Abraham Maslow described) without regard for the larger social issues? I read that there has been some response by individuals and organizations regarding this stress.
For example, in 2003, it was mandated that all 7,800 medical residency programs comply with new limits on work hours. Guidelines issued by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education limit resident hours to a maximum of 80 hours a week. Programs that do not comply can lose their accreditation. Federal rules for truck drivers -- the first major change since 1939 -- requires truckers to increase their time for resting from eight to ten in a 24-hour period. In most situations, the total amount of time a driver can be on duty is dropping from 15 to 14 hours (still to many, I believe). Many organizations are instituting "flex time"...
The computer is also changing this situation. More people are working out of their homes. I hear that one of your largest and once most traditional companies, IBM, began a "Telework" program to increase job satisfaction and thus productivity. Work being done from home is everything from administrative to what you call programming (whatever that is!). IBM reports that this move has helped retain key employees, resulted in higher morale and had no significant impact on customers.
I am pleased to see that such a changes as telecommunications are making people less stressful and more positive about their jobs and their lives. I only question what this separation of individual from a social job setting will do in the future. On the one hand, your world is becoming flatter and people are moving from one place to another with ease. Your population is becoming much more diverse, which will greatly impact (I hope to the positive) a mindset regarding diversity. On the other hand, people are becoming more and more separated physically with the Internet and telecommunications. Also, your houses are being built purposely to be secluded from neighbors (what did you poet Robert Frost say about fences making good neighbors?) reserve judgment on what this major change will do to the fragmentation of society. I do know that many changes will have to come in order to make people believe that they are still part of a greater society, although they are sitting alone in their room in their house. People have to believe that they are part of and have an impact on their society. Otherwise, there is…
