Are your employees costing you money?
More and more, there is compelling evidence to show that poor employee health is costing business big money. The statistics tell the story:
Between 2003 and 2004, 137,500 Australian employees reported a work-related injury or illness requiring compensation for one or more weeks off work1.
That's more than 365 claims for compensation each day!
There are over 2000 work-related deaths each year in Australia. This is higher than the national road toll. Of these deaths around 400 are as a result of a traumatic accident with the remainder due to work-related disease, often a result of exposure to hazardous substances many years before. 1
In 2000-01 it was estimated that the total cost of workplace injury and illness to the Australian economy was $34.3 billion. This is equivalent to 5 per cent of Australia Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 1
High workers' compensation and medical costs can reduce your company's ability to compete!
What else can effect your staff?
- Poor mental health increases absenteeism by 50%2
- Back/neck pain will increase absenteeism by 40%
- For every health risk an employee has, productivity drops by an average of 2.4%3
- Medical costs of those with 6 or more risk factors are eight times higher than those with none.4
- Workers Compensation costs for high risk employees are 12 times greater than those of low risk employees.5
- Absenteeism: Australian employees in the poorest health category exhibit 15 times greater absence (18 days per annum) than those in the best health categories (1-2 days per annum). 6
- Unhealthy workers average just 49 productive hours of work per month compared to 143 hours per month for the healthy ones. 6
Risk factors include:
- Current smoker
- High BP
- High cholesterol
- High alcohol intake
- High stress
- Poor perceived health
- Sedentary lifestyle
- An at risk workforce is a less productive workforce.7 Managing employee health is an essential part of productivity management.
- “Presenteeism” is now a major source of lost productivity within Australian businesses. (Presentee-ism is when employees come to work when they are too ill to perform).
- Presenteeism also presents a risk management/liability problem additional health problems develop in the sick employee.
References: 1: Aust Govt, Department of Employment and Workplace relations. 2: Serxner et. al., JOEM, 43(4), 2001. 3: Burton et. al. 2005. 4. Chapman, L. Summex Corporation, 2002. 5: Musich et. al. JOEM, June 2001, 534-541. 6: Medibank Private, 2005