The cost of work-related stress to society: a systematic review

Hassard, J ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3662-052X, Teoh, K, Visockaite, G, Dewe, P and Cox, T, 2018. The cost of work-related stress to society: a systematic review. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 23 (1), pp. 1-17. ISSN 1076-8998

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Abstract

Objective. A global and systematic review of the available evidence examining the cost of work-related stress would yield important insights into the magnitude and nature of this social phenomenon. The objective of this systematic review was to collate, extract, review, and synthesize economic evaluations of the cost of work-related stress to society.
Method. A research protocol was developed outlining the search strategy. Included cost-of-illness (COI) studies estimated the cost of work-related stress at a societal level, and were published in English, French or German. Searches were carried out in ingenta connect, EBSCO, JSTOR, Science Direct, Web of Knowledge, Google and Google scholar. Included studies were assessed against ten COI quality assessment criteria.
Results. Fifteen COI studies met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. These originated from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the EU-15. At a national and pan-European level, the total estimated cost of work-related stress in 2014 was observed to be considerable and ranged substantially from US $221.13 million to $187 billion. Productivity related losses were observed to proportionally contribute the majority of the total cost of work-related stress (between 70 to 90%), with healthcare and medical costs constituting the remaining 10% to 30%.
Conclusion. The evidence reviewed here suggests a sizeable financial burden imposed by work-related stress on society. The observed range of cost estimates across studies was understood to be attributable to variations in definitions of work-related stress; the number and type of costs estimated; and, in how production loss was estimated. It is postulated that the cost estimates identified by this review are likely conservative due to narrow definitions of work - related stress (WRS) and the exclusion of diverse range of cost components.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
Creators:	Hassard, J., Teoh, K., Visockaite, G., Dewe, P. and Cox, T.
Publisher:	American Psychological Association
Date:	January 2018
Volume:	23
Number:	1
ISSN:	1076-8998
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1037/ocp0000069 DOI
Rights:	This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	13 Feb 2017 11:29
Last Modified:	07 Jun 2019 12:03
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/30155

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