Stress at work is as harmful as passive smoking

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People who have high stress levels at work may have harmful health complications similar to inhaling second-hand smoke.

According to researchers from the Harvard Business School and Stanford University, people who have workplace stress compounded by personal life problems can result in negative health outcomes similar to exposure to secondhand smoke. The findings are published in the journal Behavioral Science & Policy Association.

For the study, the team made a meta-analysis on more than 220 studies on effects of workplace stress factors on an employee's physical and mental health as well as mortality and morbidity. The stressors include job insecurity, high job demands, long work hours, work-family conflict and an absence of health insurance, Science World reports.

In the study with more than 1,000 participants, 115 people were monitored longer. They found that job insecurity increased negative physical health impact by 50 percent and long work hours increased chances of mortality by 20 percent. Meanwhile, high job demand increased mortality rate or having an illness by more than 30 percent.

According to the researchers, employers have created employee incentives that are considerate to the lifestyle and health choices of their workers such as eating right, smoking cessation programs and exercising. However, neglecting stress levels which is caused by work or of personal nature can just be as harmful as passive smoking.

"Wellness programs are great at doing what they're designed to do. But they're targeting [employee behavior], not targeting the cause of stress," Joel Goh, lead author and assistant professor at Harvard Business School, told Boston.com in a call. "There are two sides of the equation and right now we focus on one side. We're trying to call attention to the other side [of the equation], which is the effect of managerial practices."

Goh added that while the study does not provide solutions to lessen workplace stress, he hopes that the study will "open up conversations to say 'these things matter."

"When you think about how much time individuals typically spend at work, it's not that surprising," Goh said in the report by CNN, referring to the negative health impacts of workplace stress compounded by personal life problems.

Goh hopes that managers and bosses will also ease policies that will encourage employees to strive for work-life balance.

"Assuming an employer cares about their employee for benevolent or bottom line reasons, we think this is something many employers haven't thought on about," Goh told Boston.com. "We're trying to say employers have a new control they weren't aware about."