News Release
Study Shows High Health
and Productivity Impact
of Pain in the Workforce
July 11, 2005 – Approximately
30 percent of corporate employees
have problems with pain,
which are linked to reductions
in health, work performance,
and productivity, reports
a study in the July Journal
of Occupational and Environmental
Medicine, official publication
of the American College of
Occupational and Environmental
Medicine (ACOEM).
Led by Harris Allen, Ph.D.,
of The Harris Allen Group,
Brookline, Mass., the researchers
performed an Internet survey
of more than 1,000 employees
of a major U.S. business
services company. The study
was designed to examine the
frequency of pain in the
workforce and its impact
on employees' health and
productivity.
Overall, 29 percent of workers
reported ongoing problems
with pain. Employees with
pain scored more than 45
percent lower on an overall
rating of physical health,
compared to those without
pain. Pain was also linked
to a 23 percent reduction
in mental health score.
Pain was related to reductions
in nearly every aspect of
productivity measured—the
more severe the pain, the
greater its effect on productivity.
Workers with pain were five
times more likely to report
health-related limitations
in job performance. On a
measure combining absenteeism
and "presenteeism"—defined
as health problems that are
not severe enough to cause
absence but still affect
work performance—employees
with pain lost an average
of three and two-thirds work
days per month.
Additional questions suggested "considerable
room for improvement" in
the way employees' pain was
being managed. Despite frequent
use of pain medications and
health care visits, many
workers reported dissatisfaction
with their current pain treatment.
Pain's impact on health
and productivity was particularly
extensive for workers with
musculoskeletal conditions.
Three of the five most common
health problems—neck
pain, back pain, and arthritis—fell
into this category. (Allergies
and depression were the other
problems in the top five.)
Companies are increasingly
aware of the financial impact
of employee health—not
just direct costs such as
health insurance, but also
indirect costs such as reduced
productivity. Pain reduction
has become a useful target
for employers seeking ways
to increase the health and
productivity of their workforce.
The new results suggest
that pain is common—reported
by nearly one in three employees—and
has a major impact on health
and productivity. In designing
programs to identify and
help employees with pain,
a focus on musculoskeletal
conditions such as spinal
pain and arthritis would
offer the biggest "bang
for the buck," the researchers
write. Interventions to target
and reduce the burden of
pain could provide companies
with a chance to create a "win-win" situation: "nurturing
a better quality of life
for many employees while
at the same time promoting
a more productive workforce."
ACOEM, an international
society of 6,000 occupational
physicians and other healthcare
professionals, provides leadership to promote optimal
health and safety of workers, workplaces, and environments.
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