Any idea how much does violence costs your business? You'll likely be surprised at the figures as I was.
Many of us already know the research that violence increases the harmful chemical ... cortisol ... and shuts down growth in the human brain. What you may not know is that it also costs the US $70 billion in cold cash yearly, according to the University of Georgia. Shockingly, that rivals dollars the country spends on natural disasters.
The University of Georgia, illustrated how much money can be saved by investing in programs that lead to more humane and peaceful solutions and away from such destructive ends as suicide or murder.
The study compared the federal Department of Education’s annual budget of $67.2 billion and hurricane Katrina’s $80 billion in damage.
“Violence can be prevented, and this study highlights the benefits of prevention,” researcher Corso concluded, in this study published in this month’s American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Furthermore, the lion’s share of violence costs come from males and young adults. It’s reported that 68 percent of the costs come from assaults and 63 percent of the costs from self-inflicted injuries from males aged 15 to 44.
Firearms were found to be the most common weapon of violence, and yet we fail to teach people how to use tone to turn disagreement into growth.
This study from the University of Georgia showed:
About $64.4 billion, of the $70 billion in violence related costs come from lost productivity … and the other $5.6 billion comes from medical care costs.
This country suffers 2.2 million medically treated injuries due to interpersonal violence yearly, for a cost of $37 billion ($33 billion in productivity losses, $4 billion in medical treatment).
The price of self-inflicted injuries … which include suicides rings in at $33 billion each year. That’s $32 billion in productivity losses and $1 billion in medical costs.
Were you aware that young people - aged 15 to 44 years make up only 44 percent of the population, but add 75 percent of injuries and 83 percent of costs due to violence?
The 17,000 annual murder in this country cost us a whopping $22.1 billion. Each murder was tracked at $1.3 million in lost productivity and $4,906 in medical costs.
Then there are non-fatal assaults at $57,209 in lost productivity and $23,353 in medical costs. It's also time we emphasized new research that discourages the notion of vent your frustrations, for instance. Why so?
You may be shocked to find that the average cost per case of suicide is $1 million in lost productivity and $2,596 in medical costs. For those who survive violence?
This study reported the average cost for a non-fatal self inflicted violence at $9,726 in lost productivity and $7,234 in medical costs. Who foots the bill for the violence we have cultivated into society’s collective intelligence? I’d like to hear your take on that one?
For my part … I propose a nation-wide brain based peace plan that adds to our collective serotonin that builds business rather than robs the bank. What do you recommend we can do?
Ellen, quite frankly this violence has destroyed once vibrant life in many of our cities. We need to speak out more about the violent video games, cartoons, movies, TV, videos and so on that our polluting the minds of our precious young people and filling the pockets of greedy business folks. Who needed to have a Brat doll who emulates aggression and equally aggressive male character figures that little boys begin to play with at a young age. We have a major problem here that needs to be quickly resolved. Thanks for bringing this to light in such a thoughtful way.
Posted by: Robyn McMaster | June 7, 2007 8:35 AM | Permalink to Comment