Wellness programs are now turning their focus to stress in the workplace.

That's according to a report from NPR that pointed out thatplenty of studies show the effects of stress on health, as well asdata indicating that people are increasingly feeling stressed inthe workplace.

Employers are responding, according to the report with increasedfocus on wellness programs, as they tote up the cost ofall that stress and see what it's doing to their bottom lines.

Incorporating such strategies as yoga, massage therapy, and evenwater challenges to get employees to drink more water, in additionto more familiar wellness tactics such as weight management, dietand nutrition, and diabetes and asthma management, employerwellness programs are already hoping to entice workers to bettertheir physical condition.

Now stress reduction has entered the picture, but it's not soeasy to conquer — particularly since fewer than 40% of workers saidthat they actually participate in wellness programs at work.

And then there's the fact that a number of the stress-inducingfactors stem from employer actions, such as laying off employeesand then expecting those who remain to pick up the responsibilitiesfrom their now-gone coworkers — or outsourcing work, which can makethose left in the office equally uncomfortable.

That makes it hard, in an already difficult workplace, foremployees to feel comfortable taking sick time or vacation time —despite the fact that they may desperately need the time away fromthe office to recover and/or recharge. Employers need to do morethan rely on a wellness program to cut employee stress.

The report said that employers need to plan ahead, and perhapsbring in temporary workers to cover for regular workers. That wayemployees can actually take those vacations they've earned. Suchactions could then forestall employee burnout, something that willcost the company more money in lost productivity — or even, thereport said, keep employees from leaving the company.