Impact of a Disability Management Program (DMP) in a Fortune 100 PetrochemicalCompany

摘要

Background In an attempt to reduce non-occupational absencesat a petrochemical corporation, an in-house disabilitymanagement program was initiated.Methods An internet-based management tool was used byemployees who were required to report all absences on the firstday and again on the fourth workday absent. A medicalcertification form was required for absences of 4 or moreworking days.Results The program resulted in a 10% reduction in totalabsence days per employee (6.9 to 6.2) in 2003 compared to theprevious year, while business units not utilizing the program hadan 8% increase (5.5 to 5.9). This disability managementprogram resulted in a more than 4 to 1 return on investmentbased on direct expenditures and cost savings in terms ofreduced absence days, after one year implementation of theprogram. In addition, the disability management programcontinues to meet its objective of reducing disability relatedabsenteeism by managing intermediate term absences (I.e. thoselasting 4 days to 6 months). The average workdays missed dueto illness among refinery workers reduced from 4.6 to 4.4 daysper employees between 2002 and 2004.Conclusions The in-house disability management programsuccessfully reduced absence duration, increased employeesatisfaction and returned on the initial investment.