“The biggest cause of chronic illness is stress, and the biggest cause of stress is work. Stress is a machinist who walks in every day, gets ten things right and never hears a word, and gets one thing wrong and has his ass chewed out … If we simply cared about the people whose lives we are privileged to lead, and send them home each night feeling valued, we could have much lower health costs. When 88 percent of people do not feel theyre part of an organization that cares about them, we are manufacturing the healthcare crisis. And then we go to the byproduct, which is pills and medications and hospital visits.”
Wellness at work: The promise and pitfalls
When Bob Chapman, the CEO of global engineering company Barry-Wehmiller, talks about the impact that organizations have on their people, he gets emotional: “The person you report to at work can be more important to your health than your family doctor. We want to send people home safe, healthy, and fulfilled-all three dimensions.”
