When a company name is associated with healthcare, is there more pressure to practise what it preaches when it comes to supporting its own employees’ good health? Basil Rowe, Shoppers Drug Mart’s vice-president, total rewards and shared services, describes the motivation as more of a keen desire to have internal best-in-class programs that reflect Shoppers’ external customer care business model. “We want to demonstrate to our employees that their well-being is important to us,” he says.
A U.S. study on disability management for behaviour conditions has shown than case management results in cost savings and fewer sick days for employers.
Arthritis is a debilitating condition that can affect people at any age. According to the Fit for Work Survey conducted by The Arthritis Society, one in three respondents reported that they stopped working because of their arthritis.
Right now, there are employees at workplaces across Canada who may be at risk of absence and disability. They could be coping with physical or mental health issues, personal concerns or unresolved issues with a work colleague or supervisor. Mental health problems alone are estimated to cost employers about $20 billion a year, according to Statistics Canada. Add to this the fact that the average employee reported the equivalent of 9.3 days in work time lost for personal reasons in 2011, and the picture of lost productivity becomes a bitter pill to swallow.
After a decade of steady increases in the incidence and number of days lost to illness and disability, the Conference Board of Canada’s 2009 Employer-Sponsored Benefit Programs Survey estimates that $7.4 billion is lost to workplace absenteeism in Canada each year.
Getting employees who are on sick leave successfully back into the workplace should always be a priority for employers. And with October being Healthy Workplace Month we’d like to draw special attention to return to work strategies. Refer to these resources when managing employees who are on sick leave and preparing their return-to-work plan.
The likelihood of life-altering disability affecting employees could be greater than you—and they—think. And employees aren’t prepared for it.
Equitable Life of Canada has implemented a new online claims system that it says will streamline disability claims case management.
A new program for business owners, Accessbility @ Work, promises to help employers comply with new legislative standards and practices for accommodating disabled employees and clients.
Anne Harvey, vice-president of HR with Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, discusses union involvement in her organization's disability program.