St. Paul: Supervisor Training Key to Safer Workplaces

The St. Paul Cos. announced a new CD-ROM and online training series aimed at helping supervisors promote safe and healthy behaviors in the workplace.

The series, “Striving for Excellence: Elements of Effective Supervision,” was developed in cooperation with PureSafety, a leading provider of online employee training and risk management solutions, and is available to St. Paul insurance customers, agents and brokers free of charge.

Teaching managers to be effective supervisors can have an impact on a company’s bottom line. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers saw a 20.3 percent increase from the year 2000 in the number of days employees were absent from work due to anxiety, stress and neurotic disorders. In another study, CCH Inc. found that employers pay an average of $789 per employee annually for unscheduled absenteeism.

That study suggested that stress accounts for 12 percent of all unscheduled absenteeism, while another in 2000 by the American Psychological Association said that as many as 25 percent of employees have called in sick or taken a “mental health day” as a result of work stress.