The American Productivity Audit (APA) study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in December 2003 suggests that the bulk of productivity losses occur on the job. The implications of this finding are potentially enormous and, at least to some safety directors, disturbing. Let's discuss what this finding may mean.

Productivity & the Safety Program

Before the APA study, it was widely assumed that controlling absenteeism was the key to enhancing productivity. This assumption was the basis for a powerful argument that safety directors could use to justify their programs:

• Invest in health and safety and you'll cut injuries and illnesses;
• Cut injuries and illnesses and you'll cut absenteeism; and
• Cut absenteeism and you'll increase productivity.

The logic still holds, of course. But the APA study's finding that absences account for only about one-third of all health-related productivity losses removes some of the effectiveness from the argument.

The best thing a health and safety program can do to enhance productivity, the APA study suggests, is to concentrate on the little ailments that detract from the performance of workers who do come to work. "This requires safety directors to make a shift in the way they attack problems," explains the U.S. Institute of Management & Administration (IOMA). It compels the safety director to take a holistic view of worker safety rather than focus on specific processes that cause injury.

Conclusion

The APA study is powerful evidence that workers who are safe and healthy are also more productive. However, it also suggests that the safety director's traditional reliance on injury and illness rates and lost workdays is, by itself, ill-suited to enhance productivity. Safety directors must also attack the soft and squishy problems that affect productivity such as fatigue, overexertion and pain. Specifically, they must incorporate wellness into their safety programs. Next week, in Part 3 of this series, we'll discuss how to make that change.

INFLUENZA & THE WORKPLACE

Important Facts about Flu Vaccine

By Glenn Demby

Speaking of minimizing productivity losses, with flu season swinging into high gear, you should remind your workers that the single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year. There's a lot of misinformation about flu vaccines floating around. So here's some information from the Centers for Disease Control to set the record straight on flu vaccines.

Types of Vaccines: There are two types of vaccines:

• The "flu shot" is an injection of an inactive, i.e., dead, virus given with a needle, usually in the arm. Flu shots are approved for people older than 6 months. Potential side effects: Soreness, redness or swelling at the injection site, low grade fever and aches.
• The nasal spray flu vaccine (aka LAIV - live attenuated influenza vaccine - or FluMist®) is made with live, weakened flu viruses that don't cause the flu. It's approved for use in healthy people 2-49 years in age who aren't pregnant. Potential side effects: For children, include runny nose, wheezing, headache, vomiting, muscle aches, fever; for adults include runny nose, headache, sore throat and cough.

When to Get Vaccinated: Flu season runs from October to May. The best time to get vaccinated is in October or November. But it's okay to be vaccinated in December or later.

Who Should Get Vaccinated: All people should get vaccinated each year to reduce the risk of flu. However, annual vaccination is especially important for persons at high risk of complications from flu, as well as those who live with or treat such persons, including:

• Children between 6 months and 5 years of age;
• Pregnant women;
• Persons age 50 and older;
• Persons who have chronic medical conditions; and
• Persons who live in nursing home and long term care facilities.

Who Should Not Get Vaccinated: Vaccination isn't approved for children under 6 months old. You should also consult a physician before getting vaccinated if you:

• Have a severe allergy to chicken eggs;
• Have had a severe reaction to a flu vaccination in the past;
• Developed Guillain-Barré Syndrome within 6 weeks of getting a flu vaccination in the past; and
• Have moderate or severe illness with a fever - wait until your symptoms lessen before getting vaccinated.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm.

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