Highest 'Employee Absenteeism' Rate Since 1999 Costing Industry Billions

Lost productivity due to high rates of employee disillusionment and depression caused by effects of changing job requirements

CLEVELAND, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Employee absenteeism or "lost work" cost the U.S. economy some $52 billion in the '90s. Absenteeism is again on the rise, posting the highest rate in eight years. According to renowned self-mastery expert Patricia Wall, absenteeism and lost productivity are directly tied to changing job requirements triggering employee reactions of disillusionment and depression -- a ballooning bottom-line concern for employers everywhere.

According to Wall, there are primary causes of the disturbing and costly absenteeism rate: (1) corporations are unable to smoothly transition employees through necessary changes in job requirements without triggering body chemistry reactions of disillusionment and depression; and (2) corporations are not developing internal cultures to create the status and personal fulfillment necessary to generate top performance.

"The workers' need to feel competent and valued can be threatened by changing requirements, far more than corporations realize," said Wall whose thriving self-mastery workshop series has helped people for more than a decade manage career issues -- generating massive increases in income and job satisfaction. "When workers don't work, it costs corporations tens of billions of dollars in lost productivity. Evolving technology changes job requirements all the time, affecting even dedicated workers at the subconscious level, causing illness, loss of interest, forgetfulness, distraction, even depression."

According to Wall, companies can reduce future absenteeism by recruiting more effectively. "Corporations need to recruit people who are willing to become better employees," she explained. "Doing their job is not enough. An employee can learn to generate a positive impact on the culture to create a better workplace, and can achieve personal fulfillment by feeling they are a valued contributor because of who they are as well as what they do. This process creates an employee who feels personal status in the workplace, and won't be willing to miss that feeling of status -- through absenteeism -- without good reason," Wall added. "It builds a high-performance employee because they feel commitment to success through their personal status."

Wall is making a difference, one corporation at a time. She recently conducted a seminar at a powerhouse Canadian financial firm -- to rave reviews. "We recently held a seminar with Patricia Wall as the featured speaker at a career event," said Rick Ford, division director. "In my recruiting role, the goal was to do something different for people who are in transition. In my line of work, I run into many people who are unsure of exactly what they want from their careers. By giving people an opportunity to hear Patricia speak about personal fulfillment in the workplace, we felt we could attract the highest quality people who would be the best fit for our firm on a long-term basis. Results were tremendous; we've already booked Patricia for a spring workshop."

In addition to hiring people who can learn to build a better company culture -- and providing the training to empower that result -- corporations must be more in tune with keeping their employees satisfied and happy with their work. Wall points to constantly changing requirements and responsibilities as a primary cause of lost productivity, employee disillusionment and depression. "The subconscious mind finds it intolerable when requirements or responsibilities repeatedly change or seem conflicting," Wall cautioned. "This triggers a 'freeze and hide' response that dramatically affects body chemistry. The most dedicated worker will fall prey unless they learn to manage their subconscious reactions."

Employers can help their employees manage reactions to a changing environment with simple tools, explained Wall. "With constantly changing technology affecting everything from phones to computers to cash registers, every worker may experience feelings that their expertise is obsolete." According to Wall, employees subconsciously consider this a threat, and their body chemistry will change to withdraw from that threat. Withdrawal can look like illness, exhaustion, lack of interest, confusion, forgetfulness, or dull thinking, and is typically accompanied by resentment toward any work requirements or responsibilities.

Research bears out Wall's observations. In 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the number one cause of short-term disability around the world is depression, which is an escalated or accumulated body chemistry reaction to these perceived threats within the work environment.

"This problem is simple to fix when you understand subconscious function," observed Wall. "By providing a mapping between existing areas of competence and new requirements that the subconscious comprehends, the threat is totally eliminated. In a simple transition, this can be as straightforward as changing how new requirements are written to model existing skill terminology. There are accessible tools that can be used to prevent the triggering of 'freeze and hide' body chemistry so that production is not lost. This reduces transition time dramatically, keeps employees feeling good about themselves and allows them to sustain a high level of productivity."

Savvy corporations are paying attention to Wall's strategies. "I know that we need to attract the right people to our corporation so everyone will benefit," said Ford. "People will have careers they love and clients will benefit from working with quality consultants."

Wall will be in Cleveland in the spring of 2008 to conduct training for local companies, empowering employees to enjoy doing more than just their jobs.

To immediately schedule an interview with Patricia Wall, please call Peter Wendel of Direct Design Communications, LLC at 202.380.5120.

Patricia Wall redefines employee satisfaction with specialized self-mastery training that empowers employees to do more than just their jobs. Directly impacting the corporate bottom line by helping employers make the most of intellectual assets -- their employees -- Wall specializes in developing innate skills and creativity, recovering the hidden costs of lost time and productivity, and providing concrete, simple tools to achieve permanent change. An employee who positively contributes to corporate culture and feels success creates their personal status as a high-performance employee. For more information, please visit www.teachingselfmastery.com.