Research Shows Workplace Benefits of Flu Vaccination of Older Workers

Workers age 50-64 who received influenza vaccine lost substantially fewer days of work and worked fewer days while ill, according to a study published in the February 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases. As reported in "Burden of Influenza-Like Illness and Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccination among Working Adults Aged 50–64 Years", among unvaccinated study participants, influenza-like illnesses were associated with 45% of all days of illness during the flu season, but, with vaccination, a substantial reduction of almost 45% in the risk of illness was observed as well as a reduction of more than 60% in the numbers of days of illness, work loss, working while ill, and days in bed.

According to study author Kristin Nichol, MD, of the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, "The implications are that the prevention of influenza-like illnesses can have a huge impact on the health and work productivity of adults 50 to 64, and we should do more to make sure that this high priority group is vaccinated. It is a win-win for the worker with fewer illnesses, days of illness, days in bed, etc. and for the employer with improved worker productivity."

Sources: Infectious Diseases Society of America Public Release (January 13, 2009); Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy "Study finds flu vaccine benefits for older workers" (January 14, 2009)

Survey: Older UK Workers Less Likely To Take Sick Leave When They Do Not Need To

Research from Unum suggests that older workers in the United Kingdom demonstrate greater integrity than their younger colleagues when it comes to taking days of work sick when they don’t really need to. Specifically, 99% of 56 to 64 year old workers in full-time employment had not taken a single day off sick when they hadn’t really needed to in the past 12 months, while 25% of 16 to 24 year old and 17% of 25 to 34 year old workers had taken at least one day.

With respect to days taken off for genuine illness, Unum’s research revealed that older people take slightly more days off work than their younger colleagues: on average, 16 to 34 years old workers took approximately four days off a year while 45 to 54 year old workers took around seven and a half days. However, 55 to 64 year old workers took just under seven days.

Commenting on the findings from a medical point of view, Unum’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Michael O’Donnell, said:

Occupational Health professionals have long believed that short-term absence is less frequent in older workers. This research confirms that the reason for this is that they are less likely to take time off for trivial or spurious reasons.

Source: Unum Limited News Release (October 1, 2007)

Other Sources: Health Insurance & Protection "Older workers 'take less sickies'" (October 1, 2007)