Economic health prevention in the workplace

Occupational prevention in the workplace could significantly reduce health expenditure

06/07/2011

Workers who work in spite of illness cost companies more money than workers who get well at home. This is the result of a study published on Tuesday in Frankfurt, which was commissioned by the Felix Burda Foundation and developed by the consulting firm Booz & Company.

The so-called presentism costs companies more than a hundred billion euros a year, said the experts of the consulting firm Booz & Company in the context of the current study for the Felix Burda Foundation. According to this, employees who haul themselves sick to work cause companies to pay around twice as much as their sick-staff. Improved health care from the employer side could result in significant savings in these areas, so the result of the current study. Occupational health care provides the companies „real strategic competitive advantages“, The experts concluded.

Presentism causes billions in costs
The study by the Felix Burda Foundation concludes that presenteeism (workers who work despite illness) costs German companies almost twice as much as the pure absenteeism of employees on sick leave. The economic and operational damages are immense. The sufferers make more mistakes at work, suffer accidents more frequently and are generally less productive, according to the experts of the consulting firm Booz & Company. Also, the risk of chronic disease increases, which can cause additional costs. The perceived stress and the associated mental stress can also cause other illnesses such as burn-out or depression. Overall, according to the study of the Felix Burda Foundation, there is a considerable savings potential in the consequential costs of presenteeism. While the costs of sick leave are € 1,197 per employee, the costs of presentee-related costs are € 2,394, according to the experts of the consulting firm Booz & Company. In view of these figures, it becomes clear that presentism costs employers and the economy considerably more than actual sick leave. Disease-related absenteeism and presenteeism, according to the current study, cause annual economic costs of nine percent of gross domestic product (GDP), which is equivalent to around € 225 billion

In-house health care as a way to reduce costs
By fully recovering at home and avoiding presenteeism, the resulting economic and operational costs could be significantly reduced, according to the latest study by the Felix Burda Foundation. The possibilities of occupational health care in companies should not be underestimated, the experts explained. Every euro invested in occupational pension plans could reduce the associated economic costs by between five and 16 euros. The savings are primarily due to the reduction of sick days and a reduction in the corresponding medical costs. Even at company level, the internal health care could certainly pay off, as the consequential costs of presentee be avoided, the experts said. But for many companies, the expected savings are too low or they do not believe in the success of occupational health care. But in the face of soaring health care costs, policymakers and businesses are called upon to develop new models that make health care more attractive at the workplace as well. Tax benefits, for example, would be an incentive for companies to expand their internal health care. (Fp)

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