Health Risks Hurt the Bottom Line.

Byline: James Sharpe

It makes sense that employees with health or emotional problems might be less productive on the job than those who are relatively free of such problems. There are studies out now that document this and attempt to spell out the impact on the bottom line. In one study reported within the past year in a peer-reviewed journal, a team of university researchers found that the more health-risk factors reported by a population of Midwestern office workers, the greater was their self-reported loss in productivity. Researchers named on-the-job productivity loss “presenteeism.”

Perhaps the most significant finding is that those who self-report zero health risks still acknowledge a decline in productivity of 11.9%. So, if this work force is representative of the rest of us, even under the best of personal circumstances, we routinely work at less than 90% capacity. Must be all that daydreaming.

A finding of direct interest to mining was that the use of relaxation medicine had the highest association with lost productivity, above that for other risk factors such as smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, elevated blood pressure and failing to wear seat belts regularly. The mining work force is at least seven years older on average than the study population. As such, they should have more chronic ailments and thus be more prone to resort to relaxation (or pain) medication for relief. Also, blue-collar miners, by the physical nature of their work, might be expected to have more aches and pains than their desk-bound, white-collar colleagues.

The investigators also looked at what they called the perception risk factors. They found that those who self-reported dissatisfaction with their life suffered a 4.5% drop in productivity, and those who said they were stressed were 4.1% less effective. The figures for reported job dissatisfaction and poor health were 3% and 1.9%, respectively. The authors cited another study that produced essentially the same findings. These data suggest the positive benefit employee assistance programs might have on productivity. Current smokers reported a 2.8% increase in presenteeism, which is yet another reasons for employers to sponsor smoking-cessation programs. Physical inactivity was another significant contributor to presenteeism, a finding also duplicated in other studies. Sedentary miners, if there are any, please take note.

On the other hand, no loss of productivity was associated with either high cholesterol or heavy alcohol use. I can understand the cholesterol finding. But the well-known day-after hangover experienced by alcohol abusers leaves me perplexed by the absence of an association.

The team put dollars to the data and calculated that, for an employee making $50,000 annually, the yearly cost of presenteeism for that employee amounted to $2,592. The number came from multiplying $50,000 by the average number of risk factors found in the study population, 2.16 x 2.4%, which the authors said was the loss in productivity for each risk factor. So for a work force of 25, the total estimated yearly loss would be $64,800. The researchers did a recalculation that assumed a lower average number of risk factors - 1.16 instead of 2.16 - and came up with a lost average productivity cost of $1,392, or $34,800 for our group of 25. They considered their estimates to be conservative. The group concluded that employers should consider a worksite health-management program as an investment, a means of improving the health of their work force and possibly better productivity.

The study used data from questionnaires administered voluntarily and confidentially in July 2002 and February 2004 to 28,375 largely female respondents. Participants were asked to estimate the time an emotional or physical problem interfered with work the previous two weeks. The average age of respondents was 38.8 years. Most (63%) reported having from none to two health-risk factors. The article appeared in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

James Sharpe James Sharpe holds a Masters Degree in environmental safety and is certified in the comprehensive practice of industrial hygine. He has nearly 30 years experience in occupational and environmental health and safety. He can be reached at sharpemedia@verizon.net