Staff writers
news.com.au
SMOKING employees cost companies $6000 more than non-smoking employees, new research shows.
And the estimate is not just based on time taken out for smoking breaks. The researchers from Ohio State University say theirs is the first comprehensive study of the topic ever completed.
The study, published in the journal of Tobacco Control, factored in health care costs, sick days, smoke breaks, a “death benefit” and presenteeism (when people are at work but not really working), NBC News reports.
Micah Berman, who led the study, said his research team took a conservative approach to all calculations.
“Our best estimate of the annual excess cost to employ a smoker is $US5816 ($6024.70),” the report said.
Smoking breaks of just eight minutes a day cost employers $US1641. A smoker who takes two 15-minute smoking breaks costs $3077. This was based on a worker earning the average full-time wage of $US26.49 an hour working 232 days a year.
The study also found that smokers were much less productive even when they were in the workplace.
“Though all employees are occasionally unproductive in one way or another, research suggests that smoking status negatively impacts productivity separately and apart from lost work time due to smoking breaks and absenteeism,” the report said.
“This is because nicotine is a powerfully addictive drug. Although cigarettes satisfy a smoker’s need for nicotine, the effect wears off quickly. Within 30 minutes after finishing the last inhalation, the smoker may already be beginning to feel symptoms of both physical and psychological withdrawal. (Much of what smokers perceive as the relaxing and clarifying effect of nicotine is actually relief from their acute withdrawal symptoms.)”
“Presenteeism” costs $US461.92 a year and excess absences cost $US517.
Extra healthcare costs for smokers who have higher rates of lung disease, heart disease, cancer and other illnesses came to $US2055.77.
The researchers also made a point to include the “death benefit” – the amount of money saved by employers who do not have to pay employee benefits – because smokers tend to die earlier than non-smokers.
For the 21 per cent of employers who offer defined benefit pensions to retired staff, they would save $US10,123 for a male smoker and $US383 for a female smoker.
They did not take into account employers who offer 401K plans (which is a similar scheme to superannuation although in the US it is not compulsory for employers to contribute) because the plans are not paid based on an employee’s lifespan.
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