Integrated Benefits Institute Releases Research on True Cost of Absence for...( Report examines absence managemen...),Health

Report examines absence management practices and results in retail, industrial and financial service industries

SAN FRANCISCO, May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To assist employers in determining the impact of health-related absence to their bottom line, the nonprofit Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI) released today "The Business Response of Employers to Absence." The research examined the absence management practices and results for several employers, across a variety of industries and operating models. A report summary can be accessed at: http://www.ibiweb.org/publications/research.

"We found that there is considerable room for improvement for employers to track and determine the significant financial impact of health-related absence for their business," said Thomas Parry, PhD, president of IBI. "Even employers that track lost time may not track absence by cause or whether it is unscheduled."

IBI partnered with Sean Nicholson, PhD, associate professor and economist at Cornell University, for this research conducted in 2007. The report features case studies from three industries including six power plants for a regional power company, a financial services call center, and a large, national retail department store.

Key findings include:

-- Unscheduled absence hurts business. The study finds a strong

relationship between unscheduled absences and higher production costs

either in increased staffing or reduced productive output. Employers

need to manage workforce health more effectively to reduce these added

costs.

-- The true costs of absence exceed the costs of wage-replacement benefits

plus the costs of replacement workers. The business results from absence

vary in sometimes surprising ways, however, depending on the

employer's business and practices, including
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