“The successful company of the future will be run by an enlightened boss who helps employees balance their work and home lives,” opens an article posted today on canada.com.

This article, based on a study by Chris Higgins and Linda Duxbury, business professors at the University of Western Ontario and Carleton University, respectively, goes on to highlight several interesting points. Perhaps the first is that estimates show that up to $1B in productivity can be lost each year due to absenteeism. Even more interesting is the following passage:

“The report … found that 60 per cent of Canadian workers suffer from high levels of … stress from trying to balance work and family commitments.

Those falling in that category are 13 times more likely to consider quitting because of unrealistic work demands, 12 times more likely to report burnout, six times more likely to report high levels of job stress, four times more likely to be absent because of physical illness and three times more likely to be depressed.”

These things are all challenges that we face in the workforce today. When taking those effects into account, along with the $1B loss in productivity and the $2.8B cost in extra health care, can business afford to not consider programs promoting work-life balance?