The National Institute for Occupational Safety and the American Psychological Association estimate hat the growing problem of stress on the job siphons off more than $500 billions dollars from the nation's economy. In California alone, worker's compensation claims for mental stress increase more than 700 percent during the 1980's. In a nationwide survey by Northwestern National Life (1992), 4 in 10 American workers rated their job as very or extremely stressful. Fifty percent said that job stress reduced their productivity, and 46 percent said that they experience more job stress now than they did a few years ago. Those who report high levels of stress were 3 times more likely than workers with low stress to suffer from frequent illnesses. Minor illnesses such as headaches, backaches, anxiety, and fatigue, as well as major illnesses such as heart attacks, ulcers, high blood pressure, and strokes are far more frequent in people who experience high levels of stress than in those who don't. Stress-related illnesses cost American industry 132 workdays of lost production each year.
