But the price of “presenteeism” is a productivity headache all its own. How safe and efficient is a lawn maintenance worker fighting a severe chest cold while using high-powered equipment? What are the consequences of a culture that encourages “working sick?” When one employee coughs and sneezes through the course of a day at a communal workstation, for instance, what are the consequences of such “presenteeism” to the health and efficiency of other workers?

Part of the emerging jigsaw puzzle of presenteeism was addressed in a study released last April by the Cornell University Institute for Health and Productivity Studies (IHPS) and the Michigan-based health information firm, Medstat. The study found that companies’ on-the-job productivity losses from “presenteeism” are possibly as high as 60 percent of the total cost of worker illness—exceeding the costs of absenteeism and medical and disability benefits.

The researchers analyzed information from a large medical/absence database of approximately 375,000 employees, detailing insurance claims for medical care and short-term disability over a three-year period; they combined these data with findings from five published productivity surveys for 10 health conditions.

For such conditions as allergies and headaches, on-the-job productivity losses, the researchers found, could account for more than 80 percent of employers’ total illness costs. The report added the cost of on-the-job productivity losses from common health problems to total employer health-related expenses.

“All in all, this means that from about one-fifth to three-fifths of the total dollars attributable to common health conditions faced by employers appear to be the result of on-the-job productivity losses,” said Ron Goetzel, director of IHPS. He noted that headaches, allergies, arthritis, asthma and mental health-related problems such as depression incur the greatest on-the-job productivity losses.

The study was published in the April issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Which brings up the seasonal subject of flu shots. Go to this IU Health Center page and read up:
http://www.indiana.edu/~health/fluinfo.html