Employee absence caused by a disability can have a significant effect on an organization's productivity and bottom line. Tying an employer's workforce demographics to disability trends can help you illustrate their effects, as well as offer a solution — the income and productivity protection provided by group disability coverage.
Many workers are not financially prepared to deal with a loss of a paycheck due to disability; 97 percent of workers surveyed in The Hartford 2009 Benefit Landscape Study said they would need to make lifestyle changes if they lost part of their families' income for three to six months.
The good news is that employers can help their non-disabled workers stay healthy and their disabled workers return to an active, productive life as soon as possible. The other good news is that you can help employers understand how disability income insurance influences productivity and workers understand the value of paycheck protection and return-to-work resources.
But first, you need the numbers. You can obtain a general picture of a workforce's overall health by reviewing prescription and medical data, as well as the results of a company's health risk assessments. Most mid-sized and larger employers make it mandatory for employees to complete health risk assessments in order to obtain employer-sponsored benefits. The data gathered there can help identify the percentage of employees with certain risk factors.
Combine this information with disability statistics, and you can present an employer with a powerful case for including disability coverage as part of their benefits offerings. (See the chart below for some examples of coupling trends with statistics.)