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Your Employees May be Present at Work But Are They Fully Productive
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Most Employers underestimate the full costs of employee health on productivity. The latest study suggests that absenteeism is not the measure of corporate wellness success, employees may be present at work but with significant decline in productivity. The new term "presenteeism"is far more costly to employers than absenteeism. On average, every $1 of medical and pharmacy costs is matched to $2.3 of health-related productivity losses.
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Press Release:
Absenteeism in the workplace is costly, but it is also readily more visible and measurable. Another workplace phenomenon is both costly and hidden, that of presenteeism -- the workers are there but they're only functioning at a fraction of their capability.
There is no malice in this situation, it's just that workers are physically unable to perform at their top level due to insidious health conditions. Depression, anxiety and obesity, and their effects on worker productivity, are the two most prevalent conditions that appear on the expert lists are driving up employment costs. |
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"…adding up medical and pharmacy claims costs alone won't give a true picture of the full impact of poor health on the much greater costs of lost productivity…"
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Executives and managers seem to suffer higher presenteeism.
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According to a multi-year study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, that of 10 organizations employing more than 150,000 workers, indicates that employers who focus solely on medical and pharmacy costs in creating employee health strategies may miss the boat on health conditions that most impact the productivity.
Presenteeism is More of a Drain than Absenteeism
The study closely examined the effects of presenteeism, concluding that impaired employee-performance typically creates a greater drain on a company's productivity than employee absence -- a finding which could come as a surprise to some employers. The study also found that when considering medical and drug costs alone, the top 5 conditions driving costs are:
- Cancer (other than skin cancer)
- Back/neck pain
- Coronary heart disease
- Chronic pain
- High cholesterol
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But, when health-related productivity declines are measured along with medical and pharmacy costs, the top five chronic health conditions driving these overall health costs shift significantly, to:
- Depression
- Obesity
- Arthritis
- Back/neck pain
- Anxiety
The study suggests that many employers miss an opportunity to improve productivity and their bottom-line results by failing to recognize and prioritize these health conditions when they develop integrated employee- health strategies and related interventions.
The study, coordinated by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the Integrated Benefits Institute, and Alere is one of the largest of its kind to date.
"The wake-up call for U.S. employers is that simply looking at the costs of specific medical conditions by adding up medical and pharmacy claims costs alone won't give a true picture of the full impact of poor health on the much greater costs of lost productivity in the workforce," said Ronald Loeppke, MD, MPH, executive vice president for Alere.
"Employers need to move beyond solutions that focus only on specific medical conditions and toward the development of integrated personal health support strategies that deal with multiple health conditions and health risks by focusing on the whole person as well as the whole population," said Thomas Parry, PhD, president of the Integrated Benefits Institute. "This is especially important if American business is to remain competitive in the midst of a dire global economy."
Other highlights of the study:
- Health-related productivity costs are significantly greater than medical and pharmacy costs alone. On average, every $1 of medical and pharmacy costs is matched to $2.3 of health-related productivity costs -- and that figure is much greater for some conditions.
- Co-morbidities -- employees with multiple chronic health conditions -- drive the largest effects on productivity loss. The study calls for further research to better evaluate the impacts of co-morbidities by conditions and combinations of conditions.
- The impact of poor health on productivity impacts all levels of an enterprise. Executives/managers seem to suffer high presenteeism productivity- loss related to specific health conditions along with those in non-managerial jobs.
About The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) represents nearly 5,000 physicians specializing in occupational and environmental medicine. Founded in 1916, ACOEM is the nation's largest medical society dedicated to promoting the health of workers through preventive medicine, clinical care, disability management, research, and education. For more information, visit www.acoem.org.
Posted: 04/21/2009
Source: American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine; Alere; Integrated Benefits Institute; National Pharmaceutical Council
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