The Hidden $90,000 Cost of Workplace Stress

by Erica Tuminski September 21, 2026

The Hidden $90,000 Cost of Workplace Stress

by James Porter

For years, companies have talked about workplace stress primarily as an employee wellness issue. We worry about burnout, anxiety, absenteeism and declining morale. All of those things matter—but there is another way to look at workplace stress.

Stress can be an expensive business problem.

A former head of HR at Mitsubishi Capital recently shared something that caught my attention. In her experience, replacing an employee who leaves the organization could cost approximately $90,000 when you consider recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, lost productivity and the time managers spend getting a new person up to speed.

Think about that number for a moment.

If an organization loses ten employees because of unnecessary workplace stress, you're potentially talking about $900,000 in replacement costs. Even if your actual number is substantially lower, the basic business equation doesn't change: employee turnover is expensive.

And this is where stress management becomes much more than an employee perk.

Imagine an organization where employees are overwhelmed by workloads, constantly interrupted, worried about their jobs, struggling with difficult managers or simply exhausted by the pace of work. Eventually some of those employees will leave. They may tell you they're leaving for more money. They may say they found a better opportunity. But sometimes the real reason is much simpler:

They don't want to live like this anymore.

I've talked to many people over the years who have made an interesting trade-off. They were willing to accept somewhat less money to work for an organization where they felt comfortable, respected and less stressed.

That may sound surprising until you think about your own life.

How much is peace of mind worth?

If someone offered you an extra $10,000 a year but required you to spend 40 hours a week in an environment that made you miserable, would you automatically take it?

Maybe. Maybe not.

For employers, this creates an entirely different way of thinking about wellness. The question isn't simply, “How much does our wellness program cost?”

The better question may be:

“How much is unnecessary workplace stress costing us?”

Because if reducing stress helps you retain even a handful of good employees, the financial return can dwarf the cost of the intervention.

And that is where the business case for stress management gets very interesting.

Join us September 30, 2026 for a candid Q&A with Joni Kovac* a former HR executive with Mitsubishi Capital and James Porter as they explore the real-world business case for investing in employee well-being.What does employee wellness have to do with the bottom line? Come hear Joni’s firsthand perspective on what she’s learned from putting wellness programs into practice.