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News Jan. 11, 2022

Pandemic-related absences have cost employers nearly $1 billion per week

A Dec. 20, 2021, analysis from the Integrated Benefits Institute shows during the past 22 months, workers’ pandemic-related absences have cost employers more than $78.4 billion—nearly $1 billion each week, according to www.constructiondive.com.

The institute considered disability wage payments, state disability insurance, sick leave wages and employee benefits in its calculation. It used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as “lost workday experiences contained in its own dataset of employer-sponsored disability claims to model lost work time impacts” based on total COVID-19 case counts in the U.S.

California, Texas and New York exhibited the highest lost work time. Among metropolitan areas, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago incurred the largest lost work time cost.

Although it can be easy to track tangible pandemic expenses, IBI Research and Analytics Director Joseph Aller said there are costs in a more intangible area.

“The true cost of the COVID-19 pandemic to employers is far more than just the expense of workplace sanitization, testing and masks,” Aller said. “A holistic view of productivity presents a more accurate overall cost estimation.”

There may be productivity issues even among workers who are present because stress can cost employees hours of work time. To combat employee stress before it becomes severe, many employers have adopted or improved mental health benefits.

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