The
average employee misses several days of work each year because
of the common cold; two or three more for personal or family
emergencies; and a few extra "just because." With the exception
of those seven or eight days, plus scheduled vacation time
and holidays, the average employee spends his or her time
engaged in blissful work productivity, right?
Well, not exactly. Just because you're at work doesn't necessarily
mean you're being productive. In fact, according to a study
published in the Journal of the American Medical Association,
U.S. employers lose more than $60 billion a year because workers
aren't as productive as they could be. The culprit: pain.
Researchers tracked nearly 30,000 working adults over a two-week
period to determine lost productive time attributable to common
pain conditions, including arthritis, back pain, headaches,
and other musculoskeletal discomfort. In terms of hours per
worker per week, workers who experienced lost productive time
from a pain condition lost an average of 4.6 hours. Some of
the statistics relative to specific pain conditions were even
more startling: Workers who suffered headaches averaged 3.5
lost productive hours per week; those who suffered arthritis
or back pain averaged 5.2 lost hours per week. And for employers,
this lost time translated into approximately $61.2 billion
annually in lost productivity!
Is pain affecting your job performance? If it is, the solution
could be as close as your local chiropractor.
If your employer's health plan doesn't include chiropractic
coverage, visit www.chiroweb.com/locator
to find a chiropractor near you, and take the first step in
getting rid of your pain and getting the most out of your
time at work.
Reference:
Stewart WF, Ricci JA, Chee E, et al. Lost productive time and cost due
to common pain conditions in the U.S. workforce. Journal
of the American Medical Association, Nov. 12, 2003:290(18),
pp2443-54.
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