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  • Conference Board of Canada Recommends Tracking Employee Absences

    The Conference Board of Canada has released, “Missing in Action: Absenteeism Trending Canadian Organizations” as the first part of a three-part series about absenteeism and disability management.

    Absent employees are costing the Canadian economy a staggering $16.6 billion

    In 2011, full-time employees averaged a 9.3-day absent rate. Within this document, the Conference Board suggests that employers must improve tracking reasons for employee absences so that they can better understand absenteeism, and only 46% of companies track absenteeism (2012).

    Organizations cannot improve absenteeism if they are not tracking it.

    Solutions for tracking absenteeism exist. We also know that most of the companies that do track absenteeism do not track it well, and thus cannot take action on the results.

    Key findings from the Conference Canada research:

    • Absenteeism costs the Canadian economy $16.6B (2012)
    • Average days absent in Canada is 9.3 but varies widely by industry (2011)
    • Only 46% of companies track absenteeism (2012)
    • Survey estimates direct costs at 2.4% of gross payroll
    • Findings do not include direct costs

    Absenteeism requires a holistic approach within an organization.

    What typically falls to Human Resources staff must be collaboratively controlled by frontline management, HR executive staff, and C-level leaders. To help Canadian businesses streamline internal processes and policy implementation for absence management, we offer a customizable software solution that can be tailored to work with your absence management program and close costly loopholes that can affect your productivity.

    Jon Burtenshaw

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  • The Financial Post recognizes Workplace Medical’s Approach to Reducing Avoidable Absences

    The Financial Post writes “Gotcha! The new way to reduce absenteeism while boosting profitability and productivity” featuring Workplace Medical Corp. President, Bill Shapiro. Columnist Mitchell Osak works through the challenges HR departments face with manual reporting and how specialized systems are the way of the future.

    Unplanned and avoidable absences affect company profitability

    New methodologies can help reduce avoidable absences. His first step is to ensure the proper technology is in place to collect “Big Data”. After an organization reviews the employee absence data, they can implement a “Dedicated Solution”. A specialized solution transfers the responsibility of managing individual employee absence records from HR to an absence management software and dedicated third-party staff. Shapiro remarks, “If absence costs showed up as an expense line on the divisional P&L statement, it would get a lot more attention. The problem is that it is has been too difficult to get a hard number for that cost.” Osak adds a unique approach to reducing avoidable absences through “Gamification”: the game is attendance and the reward is recognition, feedback and enhanced status and large companies, like Microsoft, have found success with this approach.

    Are you ready to reduce avoidable absences within your organization?

    To address absence management within your organization, get your Free Reducing Avoidable Absence Assessment Guide today.

    Jon Burtenshaw

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  • 6 Steps to Creating a Post-Incident Policy: A look at Lac-Mégantic

    As people run away from danger, our First Responders run to it and their health is often overlooked in the aftermath of an emergency event.

    Post-Incident testing is a proactive way to prepare employers for supporting their employees in the event of accidental or overexposure to harmful toxins.

    CBC reports that 5.7 million litres of crude oil have leaked into the water, and that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (found in crude oil) were 394,444 times higher than the standard level for surface waters. The blast from the explosion and the remaining toxicity in the air result in the need for post-incident testing for non-evacuated emergency professionals. How else would workers know if their protective equipment was working? Pollution and contamination from the train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec is another reminder of the importance of medical surveillance and the need for post-incident testing for First Responders so employers can ensure they have a clean bill of health. In 2005, after the Air France crash transpired at the Toronto Pearson Airport, we offered medical testing for First Responders. One hundred and fifty medical evaluations were conducted including blood work testing for enzymes in the liver and kidneys. Individual improvement plans were developed to remove air toxins from organs that showed potential long-term health issues The same post-incident testing occurred for the City of London firefighters who were exposed to chemicals and gases in a major fire. If medical surveillance is not conducted, an employer will never know how emergency job conditions impact their workers.

    6 Steps to Post-Incident Testing:

    1. Develop a post-incident policy outlining when and why mandatory post-incident medical testing is required.
    2. Integrate post-incident policy with other post-incident mandates and procedures.
    3. Ensure support and communication from management to front line First Responders.
    4. Obtain medical direction and support from an experienced occupational health facility.
    5. Confirm availability and quick response time will occur for medical testing.
    6. Include follow-up and return-to-work procedures for those medically affected.

    An occupational health facility with experts in the field can provide employers with the types of risks and incidents that are relevant to their industry. Our very own occupational physician Dr. Tee Guidotti, MD, MPH, DABT has been involved in studies on the toxicology of combustion products since 1973 and on firefighters since 1985. He has written a paper on the Critical Study of the Association Between Disease and Occupation as a Firefighter that illustrates the impacts of the work environment to a firefighter’s health. To find out more about our medical surveillance program, we invite you to download our occupational health programs guide or contact us.

    Jon Burtenshaw

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  • The Real Cost of Noise Induced Hearing Loss

    Noise induced hearing loss is now the most common occupational disease in North America.

    According to Statistics Canada, more than one million adults across the country have reported a hearing-related disability. It was estimated that hearing loss costs the Canadian economy more than $10.6 billion each year and according to Heather Ferguson, President of the Hearing Foundation of Canada, actual numbers may reach as much as three million, as hearing loss is believed to be under reported.

    The potential cost of hearing loss goes well beyond the simple WSIB dollar figures. It is a potential accident risk and a serious quality of life issue.

    Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) can occur from ongoing exposure to noise levels 85dB or above. In its early stages, NIHL impairs our ability to hear high-pitch tones. For example, you may have trouble hearing birds chirping, a beeping alarm clock, or perhaps even a warning signal in the workplace which could lead to a potential accident. It also affects our ability to hear the “consonant” sounds of human speech, which help separate words into syllables. Without this ability, voices, particularly those of women and children sound muffled, as though talking with your hand over your mouth. And these high-pitch tones also provide the directional cues that help us locate the source of a sound. As the NIHL increases, it eventually spreads to the lower-pitch tones, and we begin to have trouble hearing men’s voices and many of the other sounds in our everyday life. People with this type of hearing disability often describe their lives as one of isolation, both at work and at home. They get confused and are unable to follow conversations in crowded, noisy places and find themselves being ridiculed by those around them as being “stupid”. And because they often have more trouble hearing women’s and children’s voices, they experience tremendous anxiety that affects their family life. The isolation they experience can lead to serious stress-related illnesses, withdrawal from the family, and a shying away from social activities.

    NIHL is permanent. Fortunately, it’s also 100% preventable.

    The problem with NIHL is that it is a very slow process. There is no blood, no pain, and often it takes years to manifest. For this reason it can often be difficult to convince people that anything is happening, After all, their hearing seems to be the same when they wake up as when they went to sleep. They eventually do notice a change, but by then, permanent damage has already been done.

    Prevention: Establish a workplace Hearing Conservation Program

    Most NIHL is due to over-exposure to high noise levels in the workplace, and it is the responsibility of the employer to prevent this over-exposure with a hearing conservation program. This does not simply mean giving them some hearing protectors and leaving them on their own. What type of hearing protector is appropriate? What is the appropriate noise reduction rating for the protectors? Do you know the actual noise level they will be used in? How will you ensure the hearing protectors will be worn properly (or at all)? Have you considered reducing the noise at the source? This could potentially eliminate the risk altogether. Maybe the cost of buying a quieter hand tool is less than the long-term cost of the hearing protectors. A comprehensive HCP will deal with all of these issues and ensure the long-term hearing safety of the workers. A comprehensive Hearing Conservation Program consists of the following elements:

    • Noise Survey and Noise Dosimetry measurement
    • Engineered noise control
    • Hazard postings
    • Hearing Protectors
    • Baseline & annual hearing tests
    • Hearing Safety Education and Training
    • Annual program review

    In a nutshell, you want to reduce noise where you can, provide hearing protection devices where you can’t, help the participants understand the program and how it benefits them, and check them regularly for hearing loss. A strong emphasis must be put on the educational components of the program. These will be the cornerstone of the program and will play a large part in the relative success.

    Hearing testing is the only tool that can verify the success of your hearing conservation program.

    Even with the best training, there will be some people that aren’t wearing their hearing protectors properly. This may or may not be intentional. The hearing tests are able to spot a developing noise induced hearing loss long before the patient is able to notice it. The same is true for other types of hearing losses, as well. This allows for follow up action to be taken at the earliest possible stage. It is strongly recommended that a professional, experienced Hearing Conservation Program service provider be utilized in the development & delivery of the program in order to ensure quality control and program success.

    Hearing safety benefits us all. Help ensure good hearing in the years to come by protecting your employees hearing now with a Hearing Conservation Program.

    Jon Burtenshaw

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