Dive Brief:

• A new survey of large employers from the National Business Group on Health and Truven Health Analytics provides new information on several important employer health and productivity programs.
• Based on responses from 107 large U.S. companies, the Employer Measure of Productivity, Absence and Quality (EMPAQ®) survey provides new information on healthcare programs including onsite clinics, health risk assessments, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), workers' compensation, employee assistance, and short- and long-term disability.
• The 2015 survey shows that on average employers experienced 321 short-term disability lost workdays per 100 covered employees, in addition to 164 FMLA lost workdays per 100 covered employees and six days per employee of incidence absence, such as unplanned sick leave.

Dive Insight:

Karen Marlo, vice president, benchmarking & analysis, National Business Group on Health, explains that the survey clearly shows how absence has an impact on employee productivity. 

She adds that absence varies significantly by industry, with certain industries experiencing higher lost workdays and others experiencing high costs for the programs. Either way, when employers evaluate their health, absence and productivity programs, benchmarking against industry peers is critical.

“Employers should review how their company does compared with similar companies and determine where there are opportunities to improve,” Marlo says. “Employers may also want to improve absence notification processes or implement formal policies to help employees stay at work as well as return to work as efficiently as possible, in an effort to minimize the time people are away from work.”