Workplace stress can be costly, warns Inc. article that highlights research from Kim S. Cameron, Emma Seppälä
December 22, 2021
Kim S. Cameron
“Most bosses aren’t monsters,” begins the Inc. article “Your High-Pressure Company Culture Is Costing You a Bucketload of Money.” So why do so many companies create high-stress environments?
The article suggests an unstated belief that fear makes you money is likely the biggest driver of cutthroat cultures. To dispel this notion, the article highlights research by Center for Positive Organizations (CPO) co-founder Kim S. Cameron and Positive Links Speaker Series guest Emma Seppälä that shows pressure and stress don’t drive financial success. In fact, they can be costly in terms of health care expenses, disengagement, and high turnover.
“Research shows that workplace stress leads to an increase of almost 50 percent in voluntary turnover,” Cameron and Seppälä note.
Cameron is the William Russell Kelly Professor Emeritus of Business Administration and Professor Emeritus of Higher Education at the University of Michigan.
Seppälä is Science Director at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University.