With the 2013 business year nearly half over, companies are still seeking to handle the serious issue of workplace stress; something both U.S. and international companies are now addressing with the unique strategic advantage of Marketplace Chaplains.

According to a recent survey by JWT (J. Walter Thompson), a global marketing communications agency, which was first reported by Fox Business.com, 85% of Americans consider stress, “a serious health issue.”

The survey also reported that respondents felt that finances, the cost of living, and the current state of the economy were their top three stressors in the workplace.

“We realize that life happens and that we all have crises in our lives, whether it be sickness, relationship problems or financial troubles,” said Kevin Davis, President and COO of Kentucky-based, Fast Change Lube & Oil, Inc.

“These things creep into our lives from time to time, and I want to provide employees with a resource that is there if they need someone to talk to, or someone who can give them advice or counsel,”  Davis added.

EME, Inc., Chairman Randy Turnbow, has found many of these same stress points in his multiethnic, fast-growing aerospace company based in Long Beach, California, and he too, turned to workplace chaplains to help alleviate the pressures that face his employees.

“We have a lot of Latino employees, and we have chaplains that speak both Spanish and English,” Turnbow said.

“One employee told my brother, Steve, ‘it’s been the best thing we’ve done, and the racial tension has been less than in all the years he’s worked here.”’

In 2013 alone, Marketplace Chaplains has added 44 new companies, and now serves at 3,039 different client locations using this unique strategic advantage in their workforce, which is part of a growing business trend to help combat stress in the workplace.

“One way we help our team members perform at their maximum, enjoy their work and enjoy their lives without stress, is by providing Marketplace Chaplains,” said Ray Huffines, who has a string of auto dealerships in the North Texas area.

“There are some situations we as dealers just aren’t the best able to deal with without expert advice,” he added. “Marketplace Chaplains come by the dealerships weekly to say, ‘Hello,’ speak with the team, and handle any personal needs or issues they have.”

One study by the Velasquez-Manoff Firm at Columbia University, New York, reported that stress-related issues cost corporate America $300 billion annually.

The presence of chaplains has reduced the foot traffic in and out of the HR Office,” said Peggy Maher-Daniels, Human Relations Director, for Burris Logistics in Elkton, Maryland.

Marketplace Chaplains currently work in dozens of types of businesses across 44 U.S. states, in 982 cities, along with 4 foreign countries and 1 commonwealth.

“The stresses documented by JWT and confirmed by innovative CEOs all over the country are the same ones that face each of us every day,” said Marketplace Chaplains’ President and COO Richard S. De Witt. “I am grateful these business leaders are addressing these issues by using Marketplace Chaplains.”