Smoking, Other Health Risks Increase Workplace InjuriesAugust 14, 2001
Research Summary
A new report found that risky health behaviors, such as smoking, are related to an increase in on-the-job accidents, Reuters reported Aug. 12.A four-year study conducted at Xerox Corp. in Rochester, N.Y., showed that healthy employees have fewer workplace injuries. Furthermore, reductions in health risks mean reduced workers' compensation costs.
"As health risks -- such as smoking, physical inactivity, high blood pressure and cholesterol and life dissatisfaction -- increase, so do work-related injuries," said lead author Shirley Musich, a research associate at the University of Michigan's Health Management Research Center.
The study examined 3,338 long-term Xerox employees from 1996 through 1999. Musich's research found that smoking was one of the most costly individual health risks. According to the study, workers' compensation costs for a smoker averaged $2,189, compared to $176 for a non-smoker.
The research further showed that employees who participated in health programs provided by the company saved Xerox $1,238 per year in workers' compensation claims. "We encouraged employees to quit smoking on their own, educated them as to the benefits of fitness, and offered a 12-week exercise program," said Deborah Napier, former manager of the Xerox Health Management Program and currently a purchasing consultant for the company.
The study's findings are published in the July issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
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