R&R Insurance Blog

The causes of absenteeism are varied, and so is the impact on companies - from decreased productivity to a reduction in profit and morale.

Some employers are finding better ways to manage employee absence. Research shows a direct correlation between these five major employer practices and a better absence management program:

1. A full return-to-work (RTW) program, starting with a written RTW policy and a list of alternative duties for light duty clearance.
2. Referral process for employees to health management programs.
3. A central leave-reporting system for STD and FMLA.
4. Detailed reporting for disability and FMLA usage patterns, costs etc.
5. Use the same resource for STD, FMLA and other benefit programs

7 Positive Outcomes of an Absence Management Program

1. Enhanced productivity
2. Reduction in lost-time claims
3. Decreased overall absenteeism
4. Direct cost reduction
5. Better return-to-work ratios
6. Lower workers compensation premiums
7. Improved employee morale

Employers are recognizing the importance of managing absences, but most have a long way to go in managing their overall presenteeism program.

Implementing strategies to help workers stay healthy is critical to controlling costs. At R&R, we take wellness to a whole new level. Wellness programs will increase the health and longevity of employees and their families –which means that businesses can have a lot of control over their health insurance costs and the productivity of their employees – control that they don’t know they have. At R&R Insurance, we call this program WellCompForLife!

Join our upcoming Work Comp Seminar to learn more!

“Wellness” is more than just a buzzword. Wellness means having the energy and vitality to be productive, and feel and perform your best. It’s our greatest opportunity to restore Americans and American businesses to better health. Your company’s healthy journey begins now. Step by step, employee by employee, to a new culture of health and a healthier bottom line.

Take a look around. What can you do to make your worksite a healthier environment?

• Have you checked your vending machines lately?
• Got stairs? Anyone using them?
• Are you sending out reminders about how to get healthier and avoid injuries.

Helping your employees improve their health is one of the best long-term strategies for reducing your health care costs. Most people spend 53% of their waking hours at work; you have an incredible opportunity to change the lives of the people you see and work with everyday.

The single issue driving the cost of medical, pharmacy, disability, behavioral health, worker’s compensation, absenteeism and presenteeism (coming to work when you’re sick) is the lifestyle choices people make.

• Chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease account for 75% of our nation’s health care costs.
• Obesity costs employers $45 billion annually in medical costs and lost productivity.
• The excess cost to employers of employees who use tobacco, factoring in increased medical cost and loss of productivity increases to approximately $3,400 per year per smoking employee.

When your employees are healthy, there’s a healthy chance that:

• Productivity increases
• Premiums or total medical spending may be reduced

When your employees experience fewer health complications, the result is a healthier, more productive workforce and potentially lower overall health care costs. It’s estimated that over 10 years, cumulative medical cost savings through reduced obesity rates could reach $282.6 billion.

Your Worksite Wellness team will assist you in choosing health screenings, health seminars and other wellness events that will work best for your employees. Help employees identify possible health risks and how they can lower them and start enjoying a healthier life or understand their benefits and treatment options so they’ll be able to make more informed decisions. Once you get a good idea, you can better choose which wellness programs will go over well, so employees will be more likely to participate. Your leaders can be your best wellness champions by sending emails directly to employees encouraging them to participate. Other ideas can include:

• Decide what the focus of your program will be: awareness, education, behavior change, culture enhancement, etc.
• How often will you have an onsite program and how long will it run?
• Who’s the targeted audience: staff only, spouses, dependents, retirees?
• Consider interventions that would impact both the low-risk and high-risk staff.
• Identify incentives that will increase participation such as low cost giveaways for participation or raffle/door prizes like fitness equipment, lunches, gift certificates or even paid time off.

Your wellness team should be a winning combination of management, front line staff and employees from every health status. Lay out a specific plan for your wellness campaign.

More attention is being paid to Presenteeism than ever before. If you were to google Presenteeism, you'll get the long-standing definition: going to work while one is sick.

At R&R, we believe that Presenteeism is much more than that. We include anything that could hinder the employee from performing at their very best or maximum capacity. Of course being ill is top of the list, but here are a multitude of additional things that could cause presenteeism for your employees:

• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• Allergies
• Chronic Pain
• Migraines
• Stress
• Caregiver concerns
• Insomnia
• Financial worries
• Pre-occupation with health problems
• Depression

Employers are now understanding that they can have an enormous positive effect for the quality of life of their employees through wellness and health benefits initiatives - which will rebound into more effective and productive employees and ultimately improve the bottom line.

At R&R, we take wellness to a whole new level. Wellness programs will increase the health and longevity of employees and their families –which means that businesses can have a lot control over their health insurance costs and the productivity of their employees – control that they don’t know they have. At R&R Insurance, we call this program WellCompForLife! Join the WellCompForLife discussion on LinkedIn!

For more information about WellCompForLife, about self-funding your health insurance plan, health care reform or basic employee benefits questions, contact knowledgebroker Laura Stehno.

What we know for a fact: healthier employees recover more quickly from a work-related injury, and are actually less likely to even be injured. If Healthier Employees = Less Work Comp Injuries and Less Work Comp Claims, then another way of reducing work comp costs is to improve the health of your employees.

How does that culture shift play into the fact that the workforce is aging? How can an employer adjust roles and responsibilities of older workers to continue to make headway on reducing workers compensation costs?

The Aging Workforce Seminar, scheduled for May 23, 2013, held at the MRA Conference Center in Waukesha, WI, will address wellness, workers compensation and the aging workforce. How can employers finesse all three to improve efficiencies and increase profits?

Dr. Andrew Seter with Sensia Wellness will discuss a physician’s perspective on what he looks for in medical evaluations and how he advises employers with return-to-work programs. Proven Cost/Process/Behavior models will be discussed in this two hour seminar.

More seminar details and registration information.

Related Articles:

Preventing Injuries for an Aging Workforce

Obese Workers More Likely to Report Injury

Health-Related Productivity Costs

Employers Growing Role in Chronic Condition Management

Has your company considered the link between obesity and occupation injury?

Journal of Obesity published a recent study by Ian Janssen, et al., which examines this relationship. A sample of 7,678 adult Canadian workers, were placed into normal weight, overweight, and obese categories based on their BMI body mass index. Findings show obese workers were more likely to report occupational injuries, with a great frequency of strains and sprains, along with falls and overexertion injuries. Interestingly, workers 40+ years, female workers and workers in sedentary occupations were particularly vulnerable. While there was not significant increased risk found with the overweight individuals, the impact of loss productivity, absenteeism and overall health costs should be further studied.

At R&R, we are seeing more and more small businesses in Wisconsin having serious discussions about the link between obesity and workplace injury. On top of that – when you factor in wellness programs that will increase the health and longevity of employees and their families – small businesses can have a lot control over their health insurance costs and the productivity of their employees - control that they don't know they have. At R&R Insurance, we call this program WellCompForLife! Join the WellCompForLife discussion on LinkedIn!

For more information about WellCompForLife, about self-funding your health insurance plan, health care reform or basic employee benefits questions, contact knowledgebroker Riley Enright

Healthcare workers are frequently exposed to bloodborne pathogens. OSHA - Occupational Safety & Health Administration together with NIOSH - National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is continously working to educate employers and employees about these hazards and the best means of prevention.

A recent NIOSH-supported study shows how the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act (NSPA) and OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens standard have significantly reduced needlesticks and bloodborne disease exposure for healthcare workers as recent as December 2011. OSHA's revised standard requires employers to provide safety-engineered devices to workers who are at risk for exposure to bloodborne pathogens, to include employees in the selection of these devices, to review exposure-control plans at least annually, and to maintain specific sharps-injury logs.

For more information about bloodborne pathogens and needlestick prevention, visit OSHA's Safety and Health Topics page . To request a review of your organization's bloodborne pathogen plan or other safety programs contact Maureen Joy with R&R Insurance's Resource Center.

Home healthcare workers can find themselves in unprotected and unpredictable environments and can be vulnerable to verbal abuse, stalking, threats of assault, and even homicide.

NIOSH -National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has published a new resource (PDF*) to assist employers in preventing violence against home healthcare workers. This factsheet offers strategies for workers and encourages employers to establish a zero-tolerance policy for violence and provide workers with violence-prevention training. OSHA - Occupational Safety & Health Administration has guidelines for preventing workplace violence for health care and social service workers. For more information, visit OSHA's Workplace Violence or CDC/NIOSH’s Occupational Hazards in Home Healthcare sites.

Contact R&R Insurance - Resource Center if you would like to discuss this or other employee work place exposures

Spring is full of reminders: turn your clocks ahead, replace the batteries in your smoke detectors and file your submission for the Wisconsin Contractors Premium Adjustment Program credit (WCPAP). The attached document offers information on how to submit your payroll data to the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau for consideration. The due date to submit your information varies by your policy's effective date. Please see the FAQ section of the WCRB website to determine when your information is due. For contractors who have policies renewing in summer, your submission is due very soon.

Don't hesitate to contact your agent if you have questions about this process, or if you would like information about your past credit(s).

There are three common mistakes we find companies making when it comes to their accident investigation: Lack of training on why the accident investigation form is important; Poor accident investigation forms; and Lack of follow-through on valuable information gleaned from the accident investigation. This quick video explains these three common mistakes of accident investigation.

Poor Accident Investigation Forms.
Using accident investigation forms that concentrate too much on general HR information about the injured employee can waste valuable time during an investigation. Streamline your accident investigation forms to allow the supervisor to focus on how and why the employee was injured.

Lack of training on why the accident investigation form is important.
Understanding why an accident investigation form needs to be completed, how to conduct an accident investigation and understanding an organization's ultimate goal after an accident are essential elements that if not adhered to - can lead to poor results.

Lack of Follow-Through.
Often times great ideas spring from an undesirable circumstance. Accident investigation forms are there to capture the how and why of an accident and also corrective action steps the company can take to ensure it doesn't happen again. This is valuable information that should be shared with safety committees and multi-location staff to improve the overall safety of the organization. Don't overlook the follow-through on your great ideas!

For more information about accident investigation, one of our upcoming accident investigation seminars held in Waukesha, WI, or any other risk management concerns, please contact our knowledgebroker, John Brengosz.