Rehabilitation key to ensuring business productivity say AIA
Increased mental health issues can reduce Australian businesses’ productivity but rehabilitation programs and early intervention programs could be key to reducing losses, AIA has claimed in a new report.
Over 40 per cent of Australian employees reported being stressed out on a daily basis whilst 12 per cent were highly stressed - a $160 million annual impost on the life insurance industry through income protection and total and permanent disability claims related to mental illness, according to AIA.
Productivity decreased as employees with mental health issues and job-related stress typically took 10.8 weeks per year off, the life insurer said. However every dollar spent on supporting and case-managing employees with a mental illness could increase output and reduce leave, yielding a 500 per cent return on productivity.
AIA Australia’s general manager life insurance, Damien Mu, said trials show that early intervention is key in reducing productivity losses and returning employees to work at a higher rate.
“If an employee is off work for 20 days, they have a 70 per cent chance of ever returning to work”, he said.
“If they are off for 45 days, this goes down to 50 per cent, and after 70 days their chance of ever returning to work is only 35 per cent.”
The report, 'A critical equation: balancing Australian worker health and company wealth’, was prepared in conjunction with SuperFriend human capital expert Dr Sallie Strickland.
Returning employees to work was often just as important to recovery as time off, SuperFriend chief executive Margo Lydon said.
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