Dee W. Edington

The association of medical conditions and presenteeism

A self-reported measure of four domains of work impairment based on the Work Limitations Questionnaire was completed by 16,651 employees of a large financial services corporation. Using a multivariate model to control for coexisting conditions, age, and gender, significant relationships were observed between medical conditions and patterns of impaired work performance. Depression was highly associated with work limitations in time management (odds ratio [OR] = 2.05), interpersonal/mental functioning (OR = 2.50), and overall output (OR = 2.24). Arthritis (OR = 1.56) and low back pain (OR = 1.32) were associated with physical function limitations. These same two conditions were associated with limitations in mental/interpersonal functioning but with low back pain having the higher odds ratio (OR = 1.54 vs. 1.22). These results suggest that worksite interventions (eg, disease management programs) should be tailored to the unique effects observed with specific medical conditions. More targeted programs could have important benefits for productivity in the workplace.

The association of health risks with on-the-job productivity.

Objective: Decreased on-the-job productivity represents a large yet poorly characterized indirect cost to employers. We studied the impact of employee health risk factors on self-reported worker productivity (presenteeism). Methods: Using a brief version of the Work Limitation Questionnaire incorporated into a Health Risk Appraisal, 28,375 employees of a national company responded to the survey. The association between health risks and work limitation and each of the four domains was examined. Percentage of lost productivity also was estimated. Results: Ten of 12 health risk factors studied were significantly associated with self-reported work limitations. The strength of the associations varied between risks and the four domains of work limitation. Perception-related risk factors such as life dissatisfaction, job dissatisfaction, poor health, and stress showed the greatest association with presenteeism. As the number of self-reported health risk factors increased, so did the percentage of employees reporting work limitations. Each additional risk factor was associated with 2.4% excess productivity reduction. Medium and high-risk individuals were 6.2% and 12.2% less productive than low-risk individuals, respectively. The annual cost of lost productivity in this corporation was estimated at between

The impact of allergies and allergy treatment on worker productivity

99M and

Associations between Health Risk Appraisal Scores and Employee Medical Claims Costs in a Manufacturing Company

185M or between

Relationship of body mass index and physical activity to health care costs among employees

1392 and

The economic burden of lost productivity due to migraine headache: A specific worksite analysis

2592 per employee. Conclusions: Health risk factors represent additional causes of lost productivity.

Influence of participation in a worksite health-promotion program on disability days

Allergic disorders are a chronic and highly prevalent condition in the general population and the workforce. Their effect on workers and corporate costs go beyond the direct cost of treatment, as the condition can lower a worker’s productivity. Previous research includes estimates of the decrease in productivity associated with allergic disorders. None of these studies, however, offered an objective measure of how worker productivity is affected by allergic disorders. In the present study, the productivity of telephone customer service representatives suffering from allergic disorders is examined before, during, and after the ragweed pollen season. In addition, these workers were surveyed as to the type of medication they used in response to their condition. A significant correlation was observed between an increase in pollen counts and a decrease in productivity for workers with allergies. Compared with workers without allergies, employees with allergies who reported using no medication showed a 10% decrease in productivity. No differences were observed among workers with allergies using different types of medications, although the medication groups had significantly higher productivity than the no-medication group. The expected lowered productivity of those workers with allergies who used sedating antihistamines may have been offset by their relatively lower level of symptom severity and by the nature of the job and the productivity measures used.

Comparing the predictive accuracy of health risk appraisal: the Centers for Disease Control versus Carter Center program.

Background. The bivariate relationships between 18 health-related measures on a health appraisal and prospective medical claims costs were examined among 1,838 employees for three consecutive years. Methods. Employees were classified into high- or low-risk categories for each of the 18 health-related measures, and divided into high- or low-cost categories according to their averaged three-year medical costs respective to the mean of their sex/age subgroup. Results. Average annual medical costs for the 18 health-related measures were

Examination of risk status transitions among active employees in a comprehensive worksite health promotion program.

67 to

The accuracy of health risk appraisal in predicting mortality.

778 higher for the employees classified at high risk. The high-cost category was statistically associated with high-risk status in 11 of 18 health-related measures with a high-cost/high-risk to high-cost/low-risk ratio of 1.26 to 2.50. The average annual medical claims costs were also significantly related to number of high-risk classifications. Discussion. This study provides strong statistical evidence that, regardless of age and sex, employees in this sample with positive behaviors cost less in medical claims from 11 of 18 health-related measures.