ave cost industry billions of dollars. Some experts estimate the total cost of stress related aliments to be as high as 150 billion dollars a year (Newsweek 1988). Included in this cost is reduce productivity, absenteeism and medical costs. According to L. Murphy (1986) the safety consequences of stress may cost industry a part of the 33 billion dollars associated with injuries in 1984 (National Safety Council). Injuries are caused by two circumstances, unsafe acts or unsafe conditions. In a study done by Heinrich (1931) it was found that 10% of all industrial accident were due to unsafe conditions. That means that the remaining 90% will fall into the unsafe act category. Employees who acted in unsafe ways were thought to be negligent or accident prone but, in a study by Hersey (1936) it was discovered that in over 400 cases investigated, 50% took place while employees were in an emotionally low state. This may be due to various factors including shift work or machine paced piece work (L. Murphy 1986). The largest tangible dollar value that can be put on work related stress cases are Workman Compensation costs. In 1992, Occupational Hazards that a Florida District Court of Appeal awarded benefits in a case when a man who sustained a serious back injury on the job attempted suicide due to depression. Even though the back claim had already been settled previously, the family filed for stress benefits due to depression and anxiety. The court granted benefits based on the stress defense (Occupational Hazards 1992). How big is the stress problem in the United States? Well in 1988 alone stress claims accounted for 14% of all occupational diseases filed (Newsweek). This number is 3 times higher than 1980 and is still on the rise. More recent information from interviews with a cross-section of about 600 American workers reviled that: 33% seriously thought about quitting work because of job stress, and they expected to "burn o...
