• The cost of employee absenteeism is approximately $8.6 billion annually
  
  
• Work absences are increasingly due to personal reasons such as illness, disability, or personal and family responsibilities
  
  
• Stress-related illnesses cost employers in terms of absenteeism, higher insurance claims, lost efficiency and lost productivity.
  
  
• Canada’s workforce is aging. Older workers (55-64) average twice as many sick days as their younger counterparts.
  
  
• Employees who smoke cost companies between $2,308 and $2,613 more per year than non-smoking employees
  

A picture of unhealthy workplaces

• 51% of Canadian employees say that they experience a great deal of stress at work
  
  
• Workers who have little input into decision-making and how their work is organized were found to be 50% more likely to suffer from heart disease
  
  
• Canadians are experiencing extreme levels of stress due to work-life conflict. Workers with a high work-life conflict had 13.2 days of absence per year compared to 5.9 days in those with low work-life conflict
  
  
• The psychosocial work environment, the organization of work and the management culture of the workplace have the most dramatic impact on employee stress and health outcomes
  
  
• A negative psychosocial environment occurs when: demands of a job exceed the control; there is a lack of involvement in decision-making; the workloads are too high; and there is a lack of social support and management support for balancing home and work responsibilities
  

Benefits of workplace health

• A recent review of the effectiveness of a selection of U.S. workplace health promotion initiatives showed a positive return on investment values up to $8.81 per dollar spent on the health promotion program
  
  
• The following are samples of successful investment returns from Canadian workplace health promotion programs:
  
  • At MDS Nordion in Kanata, Ontario, the employee turnover rate is 6% compared to the industry norm at 10% or higher. Annual sick days are 4 days per employee and the Canadian average is 8 days
    
  • At BC Hydro, an internal cost benefit analysis after a 10-year program showed a saving of $3 for every dollar spent
    
  • When Canada Life Assurance Co. reviewed the results of its wellness program, it found that over 10 years each dollar they had spent on health promotion reaped a reward of close to $7