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Stress Costs U.S. $300 Billion a Year

jburroug writes "A new study, as reported in the New York Times claims that the stress of the modern always-on work environment is taking a far greater toll on the health of workers than previously believed, to the tune of $300 billion in lost productivity and increased health care costs in the U.S. alone."

13 of 418 comments (clear)

  1. Re:price by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    Yeah, the price is work your ass off for a corporation and ruin your health. Then wind up with no health care benefits, no retirement, and a job that pays just enough to pay the mortgage as long as you don't eat. Benefits: a killer resume that will get you turned down every time cause because you have experience they'd have to pay you for if they still did in this country what you used to do at work. Hell yes! 4 more. Might as well get everybody f**ked instead of just a chosen few.

  2. 50% of all tax returns are less than $35K by Cryofan · · Score: 4, Informative

    Fact. Google it. In 2002 (or was it 2003?), about 30% of all tax return had a gross income of less than $20K. And about 50% of all tax returns had a gross income of less than $35K. That is counting BOTH single and joint filers. Those people are working the longer hours with little vacation just like the rest of America, but it is a little hard to get all those SUVs on that pay. Let's fact it: we Americans do not make as much money as we like to pretend we do.

    --
    eat shiat and bark at the moon
    1. Re:50% of all tax returns are less than $35K by tjb · · Score: 1, Informative

      And...?

      Where I grew up, I could live quite well on $35K. Maybe not as well as I do now, but I wouldn't exactly be starving either.

      What do you think people make in Europe? As far as engineers go, I work with 30+ Europeans and almost every single one of them came to the US because engineers make roughly 2-3x what they do in Europe. In the US (on either coast - in the middle its less), a MSEE is easily $90K/yr. In France (even in Paris), $35-40K Euro if you're lucky enough to find a job.

      Quite frankly, I'll take 4 weeks of vacation at twice the pay rate over 9 weeks of vacation and the government taxing the shit out of me to give it to a bunch of lazy slobs who can't be bothered to find a job.

      Tim

  3. Take the example from the japanse by garyisabusyguy · · Score: 2, Informative
    Let's all do Karoshi !
    Just think of the long-term benefits if we all just follow the trend and work ourselves to death.
    Fewer people on the highways
    Fewer elders collecting retirement
    No need to raise taxes on the beleagured wealthy to prop up social security

    Cheers!

    --
    Wherever You Go, There You Are
  4. PARENT IS A TROLL by Ralph+Spoilsport · · Score: 4, Informative
    Parent IS a troll.

    for one thing: I'll take the 35 hour work week.

    Also, they did NOT have negative GDP in 2003. It's close to zero, but it's not negative. Don't believe me? ask the spooks:

    http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ fr.html

    thirdly, their unemployment rate, while high, is not 15%. In 2003 it was 9.6%, again per the spooks.

    Parent is a TROLL.

    RS

    --
    Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
    1. Re:PARENT IS A TROLL by sgt_doom · · Score: 1, Informative

      The unemployment stats for countries is not relative - the USA greatly underreports our unemployment rate - France realistically reports their true unemployment rate - PLUS they are not offshoring their IT jobs! The CIA site reports stats as they are reported - period. Also, the efficacy of the CIA - after all the information that came out concerning tips and warnings to that agency about 9/11 - that they chose to ignore - is highly questionable. Please don't depend on government workers for anything today. Let's stick to the facts, jack!

  5. Re:Isn't that.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Uh, yes. Porn runs quite well on Linux.

  6. Re:Meh by Artifakt · · Score: 4, Informative

    Unfortunately, the US is rated 38th in business efficiency among the 188 nations recognized by the UN. Several countries with features like 35 hour work weeks, twice our number of government recognized holidays, Manditory minima of 2 weeks vacation/year, and so on are doing about as well as us

    (England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark)

    or actually better

    (Australia, Holland, Germany, Sweden, and some smaller nations such as Iceland).

    We rank 7th in average prices, while France, for all the problems you point out is at least 15th, partially though not completly offsetting that high unemployment. France has a much higher average income tax rate (They're 5th, with an average of 50.5%, while the US is 26th, with an average of 30.5%), and I'd argue that that extra 20% is quite enough to give them their unemployment rate.

    Are the French, over all, doing worse than us? Probably yes. Are we doing the best? Probably not.
    Where did I get these numbers?

    http://www.nationmaster.com/

    (On the economic menu, several of these are in the section under ... more economic stats, instead of the main menu. Nationmaster gets its numbers from multiple sources, including the UN councel on economic development, but also the CIA's world factbook.

    --
    Who is John Cabal?
  7. TRUE! unemployment is actually twice "official" # by Romothecus · · Score: 2, Informative
  8. You're making the broken window fallacy by guybarr · · Score: 3, Informative
    --
    Working for necessity's mother.
  9. download link for the study itself by owen+boswarva · · Score: 2, Informative

    'Economic Security for a Better World' (ILO -International Labour Organization)
    (5.49MB PDF)

    password: universe

  10. Re:easy solution by j3z_ · · Score: 2, Informative

    There are a lot of good reasons not to.

  11. Re:And they wonder why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Illogical reasoning is an indicator that you are stressed.