Economic impact of workplace productivity losses due to allergic rhinitis compared with select medical conditions in the United States from an employer perspective

Objective: To evaluate the cost of lost productivity in the workplace due to allergic rhinitis compared to other selected medical conditions from an employer perspective. Setting and participants: A total of 8267 US employees at 47 employer locations who volunteered to participate in health/wellness screenings. Measurements: The Work Productivity Short Inventory was used to assess the impact of a predefined group of health conditions on workplace productivity for the previous 12 months. Both absenteeism and presenteeism ( lost productivity while at work) were recorded. Costs were calculated using a standard hourly wage. Results: Allergic rhinitis was the most prevalent of the selected conditions; 55% of employees reported experiencing allergic rhinitis symptoms for an average of 52.5 days, were absent 3.6 days per year due to the condition, and were unproductive 2.3 h per workday when experiencing symptoms. The mean total productivity ( absenteeism + presenteeism) losses per employee per year were US $ 593 for allergic rhinitis, $ 518 for high stress, $ 277 for migraine, $ 273 for depression, $ 269 for arthritis/rheumatism, $ 248 for anxiety disorder, $ 181 for respiratory infections, $ 105 for hypertension or high blood pressure, $ 95 for diabetes, $ 85 for asthma, and $ 40 for coronary heart disease. The mean total productivity loss per employee per year due to caregiving was $ 102 for pediatric respiratory infections, $ 85 for pediatric allergies, $ 49 for Alzheimer's disease, and $ 42 for otitis media/earache. Conclusions: Allergies are major contributors to the total cost of health-related absenteeism and presenteeism. Payers and employers need to consider this when determining health benefits for employees.