Healthy and Productive Work: An International Perspective

The Enterprise Culture of the 1980s helped transform economies of Western Europe, but left behind a legacy of stress, both for managers and shop floor workers. The cost to business is seen in absenteeism, reduced productivity, compensation claims, health insurance and direct medical costs, which in the US cost approximately $150 billion a year. Stress related absences are about ten time more costly in the UK than all industrial relations disputes put together, and sickness absence, premature death and retirement due to alcoholism costs a staggering £2 billion a year.