Stress and workplace productivity loss in the Heart of New Ulm project.

Objective: The impact of stress in conjunction with lifestyle factors on workplace productivity is understudied, thus the relationship between these variables was examined.

Methods: Negative binomial regression was used to test the cross-sectional association between stress and productivity loss in a sample of 2823 adults.

Results: After body mass index adjustment, there was an interaction between stress and physical activity (β ± SE = 0.002 ± 0.001, P = 0.033). Active participants with low stress had 2% estimated productivity loss, whereas active participants with high stress had more than 11% productivity loss. Other lifestyle factors were not significant.

Conclusions: Higher stress generally predicted greater productivity loss, but this association varied. At low stress, more activity was associated with less productivity loss. At high stress, more activity was associated with more productivity loss, perhaps indicating that individuals cope by exercising more and working less.