What is cancer costing your company or organization, and why should you care?
Benefits professionals play an integral role in an employee’s cancer journey. Human resource professionals need to create and implement procedures for leave, help an employee understand their benefits, negotiate flexible working hours, create reentry plans, develop wellness programs, and connect employees with their employee assistance program (EAP), just to name a few areas!
HR professionals have many areas that vie for their attention. However, cancer in the workplace is becoming a growing concern and stress in these positions, and it’s only going to continue to grow. In 2022 alone, it is estimated that 1.9 million people will receive a cancer diagnosis. As we’ll discover in this news post, this number impacts the workforce.
According to the national average, each cancer diagnosis costs an employer $139,000.
Wheelhouse can help to catch cancer sooner, providing a better outcome for the employee as well as lowering the cost of cancer. Wheelhouse also guides employees through cancer survivorship to aid in their productivity and overall wellbeing. These areas directly relate to the two main areas human resource professionals should consider when breaking down the cost of each cancer diagnosis:
1. Direct Medical Cost
In 2010, the total cost of cancer for employers was 264 billion dollars. Roughly half of that amount is related to direct medical costs and the other half indirectly from lost productivity (more on that later!).
Additionally, drug costs are skyrocketing – and this is only expected to grow.
More people are surviving cancer than ever with advances in medical treatment. However, survivors have a five-fold increase in secondary cancers or recurrences. This means receiving more high-cost drugs multiple times in their life. Cancer is turning into a chronic illness.
2. Productivity Cost
The other half of the 264 billion dollar cost of cancer for employers across the nation is indirectly related to lost productivity.
Almost half of the people diagnosed with cancer are of working age. With a cancer diagnosis, even the most high-functioning and motivated employees will struggle with productivity. This will not be intentional on the part of the cancer patient. It is the reality of facing the disease and how it affects one physically and psychologically.
As the cancer death rate has decreased, the cancer survivor rate has increased with improvements in treatment. Five percent of the population are survivors.
What this means for you: Cancer patients and survivors will inevitably be employed in your workplace.
Some cancer therapy plans will not require a cancer patient to pause from work to use short or long-term disability benefits due to advances in the medical field. However, both the employee who stays working and the employee who leaves their job to receive treatment for cancer and returns to work as a survivor is not the same person. They are not disabled when they return to work, but their outlook on life has likely changed, regardless of if that is fully realized (and, it takes time to discover cancer’s impact on one’s life).
There are several reasons why a cancer patient or survivor does not return to work.
It could be that their body cannot physically do what is necessary to complete the job’s tasks. Or, because the cancer diagnosis may have helped them reevaluate their life’s goals, they are inspired to switch careers.
Cancer survivors also face unclear or unrealistic expectations from their managers and supervisors and a general lack of understanding of the disease by their colleagues. Even if one desires to return to work and have a fulfilling career after cancer, well-intentioned coworkers catastrophizing about cancer is emotionally exhausting. Lack of flexibility from supervisors and managers erodes confidence while anxiety, depression, hair loss, or physical disfigurement after surgery adds to the weight of returning to work.
Whatever the reason may be, turnover is expensive for employers.
Take these statistics from Sparkbay:
- Replacing an entry-level employee costs 30% – 40% of their annual salary.
- A mid-level employee 150% of their salary.
- And a highly-skilled employee up to 400% of their salary
Without the proper support physically and emotionally at work, you can expect to feel these turnover and productivity costs. Cancer survivors face an uphill battle in achieving their desire for work. While it’s not easy, with proper support, it is absolutely possible for cancer survivors to live fulfilling lives and contribute their knowledge and expertise in their field.
The Numbers are Daunting, But You Don’t Have to Figure it Out on Your Own
Maybe you know cancer is costing your company or organization a lot of money. But when it comes down to it, you just want to see fewer cancer diagnoses altogether.
Who, at your company, takes proactive steps with high-risk and high-cost cancer survivors to improve their productivity and quality of life or to prevent cancer altogether?
Wheelhouse analyzes your data to create a Cancer Impact Report (and we do this for FREE). We look at the cost of claims, unexpected out-of-office days, and other factors to create a company’s cancer impact report.
“We need to embrace this and say there’s a huge opportunity here to help people and to save money at the same time,” says Ben Frank, co-founder and CEO. “Let’s get over the fear of talking about cancer.”
