San Diego Business - San Diego Nonprofit Manages Workplace Disability

DMEC helps companies get people back to work
By Eilene Zimmerman
Posted on Thu, Jul 22nd, 2010
Last updated Tue, Jul 20th, 2010

PHOTO CAPTION: Marcia Curruthers, CEO of the Disability Management Employer Coalition

New research from the San Diego-based Disability Management Employer Coalition shows that more and more companies are taking an interest in something known as “behavioral risk management.”

Marcia Carruthers.

^{Courtesy photo}

It’s a term coined by DMEC’s president Marcia Carruthers and it is, basically, the things companies can do to lower the number of people who take time off because of disability (from injuries both at work and outside of work) and, for those that do take leave, getting those employees back to work sooner. It’s also a way to manage risk—the risk that certain employees are likely to miss more days on the job than others and stay out longer, because their disability problems aren’t resolved as quickly as they could be. That's because many times what appears to be a physical problem is, at least partly, psychological.

Carruthers says research shows that upwards of 60-70 percent of back claims, for example, a common injury that often results in an extended absence from work, have an underlying psychological component.

“Claims that come in as back problems or a cardiac problem, often it helps to look and see if there’s something else going on with the employee,” she says. “Depression, for example.”

As a nonprofit, the DMEC provides strategies and resources to help companies improve the productivity of their workers. Its recent survey looked at best practices of 114 employers nationwide, with regard to their behavioral risk management. Carruthers says her organization learned that almost all companies believe they need to put into place strategies, programs or practices to help with disability claims. But they also found that there are many barriers to getting employees to look at what might be behind their extended claim of disability. Are they really taking a long time to heal from a workplace injury, or is it that they are stressed and anxious because of a troubled teen at home, the care of an aging parent or marital problems—all of which can make it hard to face work again.

One strategy companies can put in place is to have everyone out on disability see a mental health counselor—just to make sure there isn’t an underlying mental health component to their physical problems.

“The awareness of this is growing,” says Carruthers. “Three-quarters of upper management we surveyed were aware they need to pay attention to this. Although right now it’s hard to implement new practice that will cost money, because of the recession. And the irony in that is that people are more stressed than ever now, so there is more need for this than ever before.”

Having workers out of the office on disability leave—whether it’s related to a workplace injury or otherwise—can really affect a company’s bottom line. Workers out frequently have higher medical costs and use more medical care than other workers. In addition to the productivity loss that comes from their absence, there’s also the problem of workers who are at work, but can’t function well and aren’t as productive as they could be.

“These are poor performers, and they are often difficult to deal with,” says Carruthers. “Several medical associations have come out and said work is curative, so it’s actually important for people’s well-being to get back to work.”

DMEC’s annual international conference will be held here from August 1-4.

Business Sector	Employment
Keywords	San Diego Business Disability Management DMEC

Eilene Zimmerman

About the author: Eilene Zimmerman is a journalist based in San Diego who writes about a variety of topics, including business, social and political issues and family life. Her work has been published in national magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, FORTUNE Small Business, CNNMoney.com, CBS MoneyWatch.com, Wired, Harper’s, Salon.com, Slate.com, Psychology Today and others. She blogs at www.trueslant.com. More by this author