Supersizing Workers Comp Costs
America has become a “supersized” nation. We supersize our fries, we supersize our Coke’s and Pepsi’s, we supersize our meal portions…and, as a result, we have supersized our workforce.
The Center for Disease Control has released some startling statistics regarding obesity in America. Among those statistics, we find that, in 2008, the obesity rate was 20% or greater in every state in the Union except one. Furthermore, six states had obesity rates 30% or greater.
Recently, Duke University conducted the first known study to determine what effects obesity has on American workers and the costs of workers compensation. The trend is staggering! To avoid even greater costs in the future, American companies must act now!
What the Statistics Say
First, let’s define “obesity,” as determined by health experts and used in the Duke University study. Obesity is based on Body Mass Index (BMI), which takes into account a person’s height and weight, and is considered to be the best measure of obesity. (Click here to calculate your own BMI.) BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal, 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight and 30 to 39.9 is considered obese. The study also considered severely obese workers with BMI’s 40 or above.
Researchers looked at the relationship between Body Mass Index and the rate of workers’ comp claims. What they found was that workers with a BMI greater than 40 had 11.65 claims per 100 workers, compared with 5.8 claims per 100 workers classified in the normal range. It was also discovered that the obese averaged 183.63 lost work days per 100 employees, compared to only 14.19 for those in the recommended range. Strikingly, the average medical claims costs for the obese was $51,019, compared to $7,503 for the non-obese. Thus, obese workers are more than twice as likely to be injured and file a claim, will miss 13 times as many days of work, and the cost of their claim will be almost 7 times as much as the non-obese!
This study took into account only medical costs. We know that indirect costs of an accident (such as the impact on emods and rates, damage to equipment, costs of replacing workers, etc) are at least 4 times as much as medical costs. Simply multiply the average cost of any workers comp claim by 4 and you will discover the immediate impact to your company’s bottom line.
What You Can Do
Obesity is not a circumstance that can be controlled simply at work. It requires a lifestyle adjustment. Therefore, it is best to take a holistic approach to this problem. In the best interest of employees’ health and your company’s bottom line, here are some suggestions:
1. Be proactive in advocating healthy eating. There are hundreds of theories and hundreds of diets, most of which have proven to be unsuccessful. Rather than focus on specific theories and diets, get down to the bottom line. In order to lose weight, a person must expend more calories than they take in. The only proven way of doing that is to limit intake and be as active as possible. Provide information regarding healthy eating. Often, reducing portion sizes and/or eliminating soft drinks and other calorie-laden drinks goes a long way toward cutting down on intake.
2. Be proactive in promoting exercise. Why not start a Walking Club at lunch time? If there are stairs in your building, provide occasional breaks to allow workers to exercise by climbing the stairs a few times. In fact, encourage workers to use stairs rather than elevators. Also, companies may negotiate with health clubs for corporate discounts. Do the negotiation, and if possible, provide memberships to employees.
3. Be proactive in encouraging employees to be healthy. Be active yourself! Nothing motivates others better than seeing healthy habits pay dividends to someone else! Encourage appropriate exercise at work. In addition, why not invite personal trainers or other fitness experts to a once-a-month “brown bag lunch” to talk to your employees about healthy living?
4. Be smart when hiring and when assigning job tasks. It is probably not wise to place an obese person in a job task that requires climbing ladders or crawling in tight spaces. Likewise, it is not wise to require a 110 lb female to move 50 bags of cement! It is common for us to see injury reports from workers who were performing tasks they never should have attempted. Assign workers appropriately, thoroughly train them, and do not allow them to attempt a task they are ill-suited to perform.
Avoid Supersizing Your Workers Comp Costs
We now have documented research indicating the impact obesity has on workers compensation costs. John Dement PhD, the study’s co-author, states, “By targeting obesity and workplace risks simultaneously, we can reduce absenteeism, increase the overall health of our workers, and decrease the cost of health care for all employees.” The obesity trends in America are soaring upward, which means your costs will likely follow. Be proactive today in order to guard your costs tomorrow.
Why not use the Supersizing Workers Comp Costs webinar at your next safety meeting?
