Stiff Upper Lip

When asked for a stereotype of the British, my guess is you come up with exactly what I did: they keep a stiff upper lip. They do not show emotion in the face of adversity. They are resolute. We Americans, on the other hand, are often thought to be overly "in-touch" with our emotions. We are a nation of people laying on the therapy couch lamenting about our childhoods and bemoaning our "stress."

It surprised me to discover, then, that the British take workplace mental health and stress more seriously than we do. Indeed, in Britain, the law requires that companies there undergo regular stress audits. I ran across this trend quite by accident while looking for articles and resources on workplace mental health and burnout. What I noticed was that the majority of sites that appeared were based in the UK or Canada.

Does this refute their reputation for keeping a stiff upper lip? Or does it show that they are more willing to face a real challenge head on? Work stress is real and it is costly. A study at Middle Tennessee State University estimates that job-related stress cost American businesses over $300 billion a year in medical bills, recruiting and training. More striking, an estimated three-quarters of all doctors' visits are the result of stress related problems (from everything to diabetes, to addictions, to heart disease). The cost associated with all of those visits? About $71 billion dollars.

The Brits have realized what I hope we will soon realize: managing workplace stress isn't just a "feel good" measure, it makes real and measurable business sense.