MEDIA

Chaplains Help Conquer Holiday Stress by Meeting Needs On and Off the Workplace Floors

January 23, 2015  |   tagMarketplace Matters

Throughout the year, workplace Chaplains perform thousands of duties in worksites all over the country and foreign countries as well. Many leaders are seeing their employees’ needs met in various and unique ways during the often stressful holiday season.

Marketplace Chaplains, the country’s original and largest workplace chaplaincy organization, has overseen special gift and toy drives for client company employees needing a little special assistance during the holiday season. As chaplains are in the workplace on a weekly basis, they often know best the hurts and needs, and also the hopes of these hard-working men and women.

“I want to be sure my chaplains are getting what they need to best serve my people,” said Brad Baylis, President of City Wide Mechanical in Dallas, TX, a large commercial plumbing company. “We have a great team of male and female bilingual chaplains and I want ensure they are best able to provide for the needs of my workforce, especially during the stressful holiday season.”

Many national statistics show a $1.50 to $6.85 savings occurred for every dollar invested into employee wellness. In addition, other reports show divorce costs companies between $8-10,000 per incident, losses of up to 2 years of productivity. One company stated that when their top salesperson went through a divorce, prior to their implementing Marketplace Chaplains, it cost the company over $200,000. Stress is estimated to cost corporate America over $300 billion annually.

In many companies, the holidays are generally thought to be happy times for their customers. Conversely, they can be stressful for the employees who are tasked to serve them. In two Dallas-area locations, Marketplace Chaplains have collected toys, money, and gifts for children and families who would otherwise go without gifts for Christmas.

Marketplace Chaplains currently serves 649 clients at 3,425 service locations, in 1,022 cities, 6 foreign countries and 1 commonwealth, caring for over half a million employees and their family members in today’s workplace. Additionally, to date, Marketplace Chaplains Care Team, comprised of nearly 3,000 members, has made over 150,000 worksite visits, had over 217,000 confidential discussions with employees about their marriages and family, listened and provided help to over 61,390 employees who said they were stressed out, helped over 7,800 employees who had job-related issues, made over 4,000 hospital visits expressing care, concern, and compassion to employees and their family members on behalf of Marketplace’s client company leadership, and has sent over 99,000 handwritten letters of encouragement, sympathy, hope, and congratulations to employees and their families.

“We are thrilled that these trained and dedicated chaplains are standing alongside visionary CEOs and offering help, hope, love and care to employees in these often stressful holiday times,” said Richard S. De Witt, Executive President and COO of Marketplace Chaplains. “While businesses always keep an eye on the bottom line of their finances and successes, the chaplains help keep an eye on their top line, their valued employees and family members.
About Marketplace Chaplains

For more information on this unique employee benefit which has been featured with Marketplace Chaplains on CNN, NBC Nightly News, and in the Washington Post, the New York Times and Bloomberg BusinessWeek, visit http://www.mchapusa.com.
To arrange an interview with a Marketplace Chaplain contact Art Stricklin, Vice President Public Relations, at artstricklin@mchapusa.com or call 1-800-775-7657.