One of the most significant side effects of chronic workplace stress is the mental anguish it can cause some employees, sometimes even leading to clinical depression and disability leaves.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found that the number of people reporting mental health disability climbed by nearly one third during the past few years, compared to rates that were recorded in the late 1990s.

Authors of the study stated that roughly 2.7 percent of non-elderly volunteers said they had taken disability for mental health issues in 2007 through 2009, compared to 2 percent in 1997 through 1999.

“These findings highlight the need for improved access to mental health services in our communities and for better integration of these services with primary care delivery,” said lead author Ramin Mojtabai, M.D., Ph.D.

Results of this study suggest that workers may be in need of employee health benefits that include care for mental conditions. Additionally, employee wellness programs that provide tools and resources for stress management have been shown to decrease healthcare expenditures, as well as improve mental and physical well-being among staff members.

Flexible spending accounts (FSA) allow workers to contribute money toward healthcare expenses without paying taxes on the income that they set aside. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there is currently no law limiting the amount that employees can put into an account.

However, according to the American Payroll Association (APA), there may soon be a $2,500 cap on the amount that workers can contribute to a FSA, though it’s unclear how this will actually affect U.S. employees. A recent APA survey reported that just 12 percent of respondents contributed $2,500 into their FSA over the past year.

A total of 39 percent of surveyed workers reported contributing less than this amount into an FSA, while 46 percent said they did not use their FSA at all.

APA officials said that this may be a problem, considering rising costs of healthcare.

“Employers should encourage employees to take advantage of these and other pre-tax, voluntary payroll deductions to ease the burden of these anticipated expenses,” said APA executive director Dan Maddux.

It’s no secret that anxiety in the office or work environment can have a detrimental effect on productivity and employee satisfaction, sometimes leading to turnover or poor staff health.

An article in The Daily West Metro News reports that managers should recognize the factors that lie at the root of workplace stress in order to cultivate a climate of healthy, productive workers.

For example, employees should have clearly defined expectations and responsibilities. This may include a document that lists the duties that a worker is supposed to perform, which can be especially helpful if a position has a tendency to change.

Additionally, managers should have realistic expectations of what their staff can achieve, as well as provide the tools and resources necessary to accomplish their tasks.

According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, employee wellness programs should be implemented logistically, in a way that is specific to workplace issues and tailored to a businesses organization. This may include delineating staff responsibilities to carry out a wellness program, so that the initiative doesn’t become a source of workplace stress, rather than a remedy to the problem.

The benefits of employee wellness programs have been touted in recent years as money-savers for companies concerned about the rising costs of healthcare. However, it’s sometimes hard to quantify just how much organizations stand to save.

A group of businesses in the Kansas City region recently announced that they were able to avoid $11 million in healthcare costs over three years after implementing several initiatives in the workplace aimed at disease prevention and tailored employee health benefits.

Some of the interventions these 15 companies used were increasing access to health information, decreasing obstacles to preventative care, encouraging workers to reduce their risks of illness and improving treatment options for chronic diseases.

“By implementing a value-based approach to health benefit design, this group of employers has been able to better address worker health and productivity while also lowering overall healthcare costs,” said Christine Wilson, president and CEO of the Mid-America Coalition on Health Care.

Administrators estimated that $194 was saved per employee as a result of chronic illness prevention.

Since stress is a leading cause of chronic disease, this suggests that employee wellness programs aimed at managing tension may help reduce workplace stress and cut costs stemming from employee health benefits.