Social pollution from work: employers cause stress & health problems

Business professor Nuria Chinchilla uses the term “social pollution” to describe how work stress causes chronic illnesses including depression, anxiety. These cost the community billions of dollars and the corporations don’t pay for the costs of this pollution.

This is similar to CO2 pollution that causes harm to society and the environment and uses up resources without paying the costs.  Social polljution could include: causing the breakup of marriages, burdens on raising children, and general disruption to family life. And the family unit is an important source of social support.

Jeffrey Pfeffer: .

1. …an enormous percentage of the health care cost burden in the developed world, and in particular in the U.S., comes from chronic disease–things like diabetes and cardiovascular and circulatory disease.

2. …diabetes, cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome—and many health-relevant individual behaviors such as overeating and underexercising and drug and alcohol abuse–come from stress.

3. the biggest source of stress is the workplace.

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Source: Stanford professor: “The workplace is killing people and nobody cares”