Unhealthy Employees Cost Businesses $153 Billion In Lost Productivity

A new Gallup poll estimates that unhealthy workers cost businesses $153 billion a year in lost productivity.

Nearly 110,000 full-time employees were surveyed, self-reporting their height, weight and chronic medical conditions.

According to the poll, only about one in seven employees -- 13.9 percent of the workforce -- is of normal weight with no chronic condition, logging an average of just .34 unhealthy days per month, or 4 sick days per year. Those who were overweight or obese but who had no chronic conditions reported an average .36 unhealthy days per month.

But the more than 30 percent of the population who reported being overweight or obese with one to two chronic conditions missed an average of 1.08 days per month due to poor health, adding up to over $32 billion in lost productivity. Those who said they were overweight or obese with three or more chronic conditions recorded over 3 unhealthy days per month, averaging 42 days per year and totaling $81 billion in losses.

The study took into account several chronic conditions, including whether the subject had a heart attack, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, diabetes, asthma, depression and reoccurring physical pain in the neck, back, knee or leg for the last 12 months.

Surprisingly, the total cost of lost productivity in the U.S. -- $153 billion -- is four times greater than in the U.K., where 20 percent of the full-time workforce is healthy.

The studies' authors claim that the estimated $153 billion loss is actually much greater due to factors not included in the poll, including the health of part-time workers and the "presenteeism" issue, in which an employee goes to work but is less productive due to poor health.

Another study conducted by the Milken Institute broadens the factors by including other chronic disorders, and in turn reports that ill health actually costs employers $1.1 trillion annually, while $277 billion is spent on treatment.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, private industries with fewer than 100 employees provided workers with an average of 6 paid sick days, costing private firms 23 cents per employee for every hour worked. However, this average only accounts for recorded sick days and does not take into account the cost of employee presenteeism and limited productivity.

Comments

[HopeWFaith]

03:16 AM on 10/20/2011

We are not ROBOTs. We are all humans, even the Corporate Owners are humans who get sick from time to time. They do not worry about being out a day here, a day there. They are protected by filthy rich incomes and super power health plans that cannot be taken from them or reduced. They want to reduce the American worker to slaves, and that is the point. Let us not be suckered by articles such as these. WE ARE HUMANS, NOT ROBOTS!

[TJustice]

04:52 PM on 10/19/2011

Yeah, the obese, old people, smokers should be done away with immediately. They don't have the right to breathe our good air. They are unproductive. People should be used until they become no more viable. It is all about profits and the corporations. I don't think women who get pregnant should be kept. It is their fault and choice to have a baby.

In fact, we should give a physical fitness test as a pre-hire requirement. You have to be able to run a mile in less than 15 minutes. Also, I do think we should have access to the DNA. The DNA profile should tell us if you will have cancer or not, born with diabetes, born with anything that will hurt our bottom line.... We need the perfect workforce.

This is a terrible article. Greed is never to blame. Blame the illegals, the fatty person, etc... Never blame the business model that makes airline seats smaller, that pay people crazy low wages....
If everyone lost weight today and all the illegals went away....will jobs come back to America? Will an employer keep you employed because your thin? It is about the bottom line, money!

Give me a break!

[Goddess Athena]

02:20 PM on 10/19/2011

I agree that poor health has a major impact on the workplace. I have serious allergies that can make me very uncomfortable at times. I need prescription medication to control them, but have had to fight tooth and nail with my health insurance carrier to get the meds approved. The over-the-counter meds do not control my symptoms, but I had to prove that I "failed" on those drugs before the company would cover the prescription drugs, and now that my dose needs to be adjusted, the insurer is fighting again. Throughout all of this, I have managed to miss only 2 days of work due to illness this year, and my productivity was still very high. Better healthcare, and better preventative healthcare would have a big impact.

[HopeWFaith]

03:12 AM on 10/20/2011

I have been in the same company for 11 years and I have seen absolutely NO evidence of anyone's overweight body causing them to miss work. Quite the opposite in fact. Poor health is one thing. Claiming that fat people (See the PHOTO) are causing businesses to lose out is a bold face lie. Not from you but from this overall article. The whole point of this article is to support the idea of removing fat or unhealthy people from jobs. DON'T YOU ALL GET WHAT CORPORATE AMERICA is up to?

[Goddess Athena]

09:43 AM on 10/20/2011

I agree that simply being overweight does not hinder productivity or increase sick days. So long as you are healthy, that is what matters. Unfortunately, being overweight can lead to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc.

In my case, having to "fail" on certain drugs before I could get the prescription drug that works for my allergies was outrageous. That lead to more doctor visits, more tests and more healthcare costs. If my doctor had simply been allowed to give me the best drug for my condition, there would have been reduced health costs. I work in a small law fiirm, and our insurance company used all those visits as part of its excuse to raise our premiums by 35%. Thankfully, I am a very valuable employee and was not terminated. But I can see where profit hungry corporations and smaller businesses that are struggleing right now would use this sort of thing to terminate any employee they deemed to be unhealthy.

[Xmassin]

02:10 PM on 10/19/2011

I was terminated from my position just over a year ago form the company I worked for for just over six years. I drive a truck for a regional Postal contractor hauling the mail. Everything was fine for four years until we got a new terminal manager and he found out I have Crohns disease. No other manager had a problem with the odd day I called in sick(maybe 1 day every 2 months) or the day off to get my medication infusion. After he found out I had it he tried to have me put on an "intermittent leave of absence". To protect my position he and the corporate office claimed. I was advised not to do it by my union steward because there was a policy that any employee returning from a leave of absence had to get recertified thru DOT. Once I refused their suggestion I began getting written up for the most trivial offenses. Where other drivers would be asked not to do something I would be given a 'written warning'. This went on for nearly two years before they finally got sick of not being able to terminate me justly before they ended up falsifying information to fire me. It wasnt until after I was fired that I found out they fired four other people who all had medical conditions from our terminal in an effort to keep company health premiums down. We would file a complaint but how do you prove it?

[Kristin Talbott]

03:35 PM on 10/19/2011

Get an attorney and let them worry about securing the proof.

[Xmassin]

05:36 PM on 10/19/2011

Ya already done that. He even advised there would be nearly no chance of winning thanks to the laws in Kansas being more pro business instead of pro employee. We would still have to show 100% proof that is the reason behind the firing of myself and the others and that kind of proof is something we cant get. This is a company that after they falsified my documents they waited 61 days to fire me for it. At up to 60 days I cold have filed a complaint with the FMCSA. I didnt even know they did it until after I was fired.

[benne]

11:58 AM on 10/19/2011

Yes, yes, everything is about our ability to work: this is why in our country those who can't work are thrown out on the streets to die. How about a reduced work week that would make us all healthier?

[Kristin Talbott]

03:39 PM on 10/19/2011

You really hit it right on the head.

We work far too much; no matter what one's job is you simply can't fit a truly well-balanced life around the standard work week. And for those of us stuck at desk jobs, it's even worse. We're just not made to sit all day.

I'm extremely lucky that my boss allows me to go for for walks pretty much as often as I want to. I walk home a lot (25 blocks) and also walk on lunch, but I can easily take another 40-50 minutes a day to go walking and STILL not feel like I'm getting enough physically activity. And my situation is definitely the exception...most employers would not tolerate anything like what I do.

[roscoewpa]

01:04 AM on 10/19/2011

What Id like to see in the study is more demographics. What kind of job are they holding. The hours they work. Weight has alot of factors both physical and mental and are influenced by more factors than just eating. So its not getting down to the real issues for example many people who work long hours and get less sleep tend to have a higher weight. So in light of this it lacks some fact. A good example I worked for a food establishment you were not allowed to bring in any outside food. One reason was it looked bad if coustmers seen u eating other food than the establisment and a potential of cross contamination. Also if you did not get a designated amount of time for lunch you ate between coustmers so you may get five minutes here 3 min there 10 minutes here.

[krist6804]

06:40 PM on 10/18/2011

What is the cost of an unhealthy/dysfunctional US Congress?

What does that cost the citizens?

[TheTrue Pooka]

02:54 PM on 10/18/2011

What a great study! It shows plainly how the fault lies not just with the individual but with private industry as well and how we need affordable healthcare and a healthy work environment! I'm so glad everyone else commenting is pointing that out!

[bave]

01:42 PM on 10/18/2011

This is why you don't hire elderly, overweight, and smokers. Simple enough.

[HopeWFaith]

03:18 AM on 10/20/2011

BOOOOO.

[PROGRESSISGOOD]

10:46 AM on 10/20/2011

What about motorcyle riders? How about adventure sports enthusiasts? What about those crazy bicyclists riding on our dangerous roads and highways? What about someone who lives in a crime ridden neighborhood? What about someone who has a violent spouse? What about you?

[bave]

12:56 PM on 10/20/2011

Most of those are sudden deaths and much more difficult to screen in the hiring process. It is easy to determine if someone is overweight, a smoker, or old in an interview.

[chiodo08]

01:17 PM on 10/18/2011

in my world you would pay dearly for HC if you lived an unhealthy lifestyle that cost my company....on the other hand there would be all kinds of benefits, incentives and opportunity towards a balanced wellness plan.....I have been saying this for years the only incentive for those of us with discipline and make place wellness at the center of our lives is our own well being...which is great...but in this society you pay dearly for it...whether it be food standards, out of pocket for an AP, chiro or body worker etc. it's like we are designed to continue to support an unhealthy id....

[ThinkHappyThoughts]

12:45 PM on 10/18/2011

Very rarely is being morbidly overweight NOT a choice. I understand that some people have medical conditions that prevent them from being able to control their weight however they are very much the minority of the overall obese population.

Most people are just overweight and do nothing about it and when other medical issues arise as a result from their weight they then become the reason for their weight issues which is ultimately false.

Lifestyle choices matter. Eat right and exercise, its really that simple. You can cheat but in moderation and reasonably.

Yes it will be difficult but the results are well worth it as you will have more time with your loved ones and experiences in life. You will also find a higher quality of life through healthy living. No one is saying you have look like a model just find what works for your body and is health given your genetic make up.

Obviously this is effecting all aspects of everyone's life.

[chiodo08]

01:27 PM on 10/18/2011

I remember going to traffic school for a speeding ticket and a seat belt "tax"...the instructor asked for stories. I said I feel it's a tax to make someone libel for their own safety...some do gooder girl shouts out..."it makes my insurance rates go up.."...I was like really..well then explain why in this society people aren't "taxed" for their lack of discipline at the all you can eat buffet...utter awkward silence. They looked at me like...I can't believe you said that...I didn't flinch and said...why should I who is a model wellness example in my diet, exercise and over all balance pay just as much as an 0b3se person working on their second big mac at McDonalds....the instructor couldn't change the subject fast enough...but NOBODY could argue with me...was it uncool to point that out...maybe? But in my opinion that pious attitude of do gooder had dictated my response. People refuse to recognize the elephant in the room. I won't.
Would I rather go to 5 guys for lunch today instead of swimming a mile at the pool and a smoothie and sandwich after?...of course...BUT I like myself and I want to feel and be healthy.

[NJBill]

08:12 PM on 10/18/2011

You fail to realize you WILL die from SOMETHING. People are not going to make death obsolete. The END days of a person's life is what costs the money, whether it's a stroke at 60 or living long enough to develop a cancer at age 75 or 80. And it makes me laugh that people are complaining about people doing unhealthy things and at the same time cry how they will have no social security because people are living longer...let people eat and live as they wish, they die young that's more money for you - no? ;)

[rokzane]

11:52 PM on 10/19/2011

You sure are arrogant. I eat healthy and exercise daily, but I’m still at a BMI that is considered obese. That’s just the way it is; I have been the same weight for almost 15 years. I watched my mother yo-yo diet to such extremes that it destroyed her health, and I decided a long time a go NOT to do that. I do not have any health conditions whatsoever, and I haven’t had to take a sick day in a year. Weight is NOT an indicator of health. People come in all shapes and sizes. So your saying I should be punished because I cannot fit into some arbitrary physical mold decided by some stupid insurance company? (The BMI index was dreamed up by the MetLife insurance company in the 1950s. Did you know that? It means absolutely nothing in terms of health). I may be considered obese, but I am NOT unhealthy. I was a competitive swimmer in college. I bet I could swim circles around you.

[marklfuerst]

11:55 AM on 10/18/2011

More than 75% of employees' health-care costs are related to lifestyle choices. It’s been shown that people who reduce one cardiovascular disease risk factor can decrease their absenteeism by 2%. The good news is that productivity improves along with health. People who improve just one cardiovascular disease risk factor show a 2% increase in their productivity. Reducing stress may help boost your health and resiliency, and therefore make you a better worker (http://www.marklfuerst.com/blog/2011/09/23/how-to-reduce-stress-and-work-better/).

[Cuyahoga]

11:11 AM on 10/18/2011

Last month during the week of my 60th birthday - my employment was terminated. I do believe my medical costs were a part of the reason why I lost my job (where for six years I had excellent reviews). the company is self insured and some staff had access to our medical records.