Inside Human Resources Blog

65 percent of employees cite pain causes lost productivity

Chronic pain among the nation’s workforce rose nearly 40 percent between 1996 and 2006 according to a national survey of 1,103 full-time U.S. workers and 251 employment benefits managers.

· 89 percent of full-time employees with chronic pain experienced pain at work.

· 89 percent of full-time employees with chronic pain typically go to work instead of staying home when in pain.

· 27 percent more employees missed work five or more days because of chronic pain during 2006 vs. in 1996.

· 46 percent of employees with chronic pain said the pain often or sometimes affects their ability to perform their job.

· 65 percent of employers surveyed cited pain-related conditions as a cause of lost productivity.

· $1.1 billion of lost wages in 2006 was attributable to employees calling in sick due to any pain-related condition.

Source: National Pain Foundation (2007)

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Shocking (and Sad) Statistics about Literacy and Reading

According to The Literacy Company and Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics:

• Over 50 of NASA employees are dyslexic. They actually sought after by the organization because they have superb problem-solving skills.
• More than 20 percent of adults read at or below the fifth grad level; this is well below what they need to earn a living wage.
• Nearly three out of five prison inmates are illiterate.
• Eighty-five percent of all juvenile offenders have reading problems.
• More than 75 percent of those on welfare are illiterate.
• More than 1 million children drop out of school every year.
• About 50 percent of America's unemployed youths are functionally illiterate, meaning they can't carry out simple tasks like balancing a checkbook or reading drug levels.
• Forty-four million American adults are poor readers or "functionally illiterate."
• Twenty-one million American adults can't read at all; one-fifth of high school graduates can't read their diplomas.
• One-third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
• Forty-two percent of college graduates never read another book.
• Seventy percent of Americans haven't visited a bookstore in five or more years.
• Fifty-seven percent of new books are not read to completion.

For more workforce statistics and demographic trends, visit the Perfect Labor Storm website.