Abstract
PURPOSE: To examine the effects of participation in a comprehensive 12-week worksite health program on employee sick leave (SL). METHODS: In 2006 a lifestyle-focused health program aiming to reduce cardiovascular risk factors was implemented at a Swiss service company. The multidisciplinary intervention program included 8 components (e.g. exercise, nutrition, relaxation) with multiple modules. Six hundred and sixty employees over the age of 40 were invited to participate. For those participating, 4 health screenings and coaching sessions took place every 3 months until early 2007. This analysis includes 149 participants and 421 non-participants for whom SL data was complete from 2006 to 2008 and for whom SL did not exceed 115 days/year. The change in participants' SL from 2006 to 2008 was projected to non-participants and the difference with non-participants' actual 2008 SL was calculated. Using the company's median salary of $330/day, we estimated the company's potential annual savings for 2008 if all non-participants had taken part in the 12-week intervention. RESULTS: At baseline participants did not significantly differ in age (48 ± 6.0 y), gender (28% women) and SL (3.8 ± 7.5 d/y) from non-participants (49 ± 6.2 y; 35% women; 4.1 ± 9.6 d/y). After the intervention SL was significantly lower in participants (2007: T= -2.74, p= 0.006; 2008: T= -2.47, p= 0.014). From 2006 to 2008 participants showed a 7% decrease in SL while non-participants showed a 46% increase (participants from 3.8 to 3.5 d/y; non-participants from 4.1 to 6.0 d/y). If all non-participants had taken part in the intervention and experienced the corresponding 7% decrease in SL, estimated savings would have been $ 716 per non-participant and $ 301,436 for all non-participants in 2008. CONCLUSION: Participation in this worksite health program resulted in significantly lower sick leave even 2 years later. The company could have saved $ 716 per employee/year or over $300,000/year had all employees participated. As this analysis concerns the indirect savings (i.e. labor cost), one may assume that there will be additional direct savings (i.e. medical and out-of-pocket cost), making the societal savings even larger.
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