Disability is on the rise and it’s impacting both employers and employees. More American workers are becoming financially vulnerable while it’s costly for employers.
By providing this site, our goal is to help you help your employees — and your company — better manage the sobering costs of disability by raising employee awareness on wellness and financial protection.
Please view our Resources for Employees to find a wealth of information you can share throughout your company.
Disability in the Workplace:
Here are some startling facts that every HR manager should know
Impact on Employer:
- Disability costs exceeded $340 billion in the year 2000. 1
- The indirect costs of poor health (absenteeism) can be 2 to 3 times the direct medical costs.2
- The average disability absence results in payments of $3,800, while lost productivity costs average over $22,800.3
- The "total costs" associated with each disability absence exceeds $35,000.4
- Just 10% of disability cases account for more than half the total medical and disability costs.5
- The average duration of a long-term disability is 30 months.6
- 86% of employers believe that they need to offer benefits above and beyond health/medical benefits in order to stay competitive.7
- 64% of employers (with 10 employees minimum) offer at least one voluntary benefit.8
- Disabling injuries and illnesses account for 55% of employee absences.9
- Employers spend 4.1% of payroll on unscheduled absences.10
- In 2006, unscheduled absence cost some large employers an estimated $850,000 per year in direct payroll.11
Impact on Employee:
- Three out of 10 workers between the ages of 25 and 65 will experience an accident or illness that keeps them out of work for 3 months or longer.12
- In the U.S., a disabling injury occurs every 2 seconds, a fatal injury occurs every 5 minutes.13
- Over 90% of disabling accidents & illnesses are not work related, and therefore not covered by workers’ compensation.14
- Savings can be depleted quickly during a disability. Unfortunately, 1/4th of U.S. households have net assets under $10,000.15
- More than 1 in 5 adults believe that unemployment or Social Security will cover them if they become disabled.16
- The average duration of a long-term disability is 30 months.17
- Over 64% of workers do not have Long-Term Disability Income coverage through work18
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Visit the CDA website for more information: www.disabilitycanhappen.org
