No More Gloom and Doom

No More Gloom and Doom All those Safety and Wellness programs that employers implemented over the past several years are finally paying off, big time. Disability Management programs are cost effective, and the statistics are proof. The Bureau of Labor Statistics* reports that the: Nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses among private industry employers in 2006 (last full year of reporting) occurred at a rate of 4.4 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers –a decline from 4.6 cases in 2005. The rate of such injuries and illnesses in 1997 was 7.1 cases per 100 workers. The difference between 7.1 cases and 4.4 cases is a very dramatic difference and one that should convey a significant message to employers. One other key statistics in the report cited above is that the number of total cases of injury and illness was highest among mid-size companies (employing between 50 and 249 workers), higher than the rate in large-size companies. Larger companies (over 250 employees) are most likely to have intensive Disability Management programs in place and staffed accordingly. Large-size companies generally have in-house resources such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) available to address employee health issues in a timely or even preventive way. As a consequence, these companies do better than mid-size companies in terms of their injury/illness rates. Major sports teams, for example Major League Baseball, have long since learned to manage on the basis of raw statistics. If mid-sized companies were to do the same, these statistics on the value of Disability Management would yield significant and cost-effective results. ____________________ * United States Department of Labor/Bureau of Labor Statistics: “Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2006”