Each month CWHP will consolidate key content from the prior month in the form of a newsletter. These newsletters will be archived in the News & Events section of the website. The June 2016 issue can be downloaded here. The July 2016 issue can be downloaded here. If you would like to be added to our newsletter sign-up here.
The primary objective of this study is to describe self-reported work performance among a sample of employees with cancer. Employers in particular have an interest in understanding the impact of different chronic conditions and treatment approaches on a variety of work outcomes such as absence, job performance and periods of work disability. This study focuses on six types of cancer and self-reported productivity outcomes. These preliminary findings were recently presented at ISPOR May 2016
The RWJ Foundation and UCSF work together to fund an array of research efforts aimed at understanding and influencing cultures of health. Dr. Hangsheng Liu and his colleagues at RAND are one of their grantees and a project to watch for employers seeking to influence their own workplace culture -- in this case they are focusing on public schools and teacher and student health as part of a worksite health intervention.
For more information on Hangsheng Liu’s research see…..
Study highlight
The CWHP’s first report, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Workforce Health and Productivity in the United States, underscores that employers have many opportunities to help employees with musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) stay at work and return to work from disability leaves. Efforts to facilitate recovery and preserve workplace productivity will be most effective when they take into account factors such as pain management, mental health comorbidities and the workplace and home environments.
As a system output, “health” and its related components should have a more prominent role in the national health care debate. Much is at stake and the timing is critical. As a result of health care reform, employers will soon be deciding whether to (1) continue to provide health insurance for their employees, (2) opt-out of providing insurance and instead pay penalties and have employee insurance provided by health care exchanges or (3) opt-out but continue to provide health and wellness related programs.
The big “C” – cancer — can cause panic and feelings of helplessness. These feelings, however, often are shared beyond the patients being screened or treated for the disease. Employers often are unsure of how to help their employees who have been diagnosed with cancer and desire to remain at work during treatment or return to work after care. Yet we know from existing research that having access to proper screening and high quality treatment can have positive effects on these employees’ work outcomes.
Three recent studies from the the National Bureau of Economic Research describe recent trends among older workers remaining in or retiring from the labor force and where their health status may fit in their decision to retire or not. A study from Germany estimated that two thirds of the workforce could continue work until age 70 based on projected health capacity and ability to work. Three additional studies from the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden find that workers possess healthy work capacity to extend their working careers past current retirement ages.
