Economic impacts of workplace disability management in a public enterprise

This study analyses the financial impact of a recently implemented new work disability management system of a public in-house enterprise. The material was collected from the enterprises and city groups databases. A cost benefit model was utilized for the economic analysis of the period 2009 to 2012. The main costs arose from the investments on loss of production due to lowered production standards and on the work ability co-ordinators work. The main financial benefits came from the reduced pension costs and sick leaves. A traditional linear approach led to a 14% annual positive return on investment. A non-linear cost assessment approach led to a 4.7-year pay-back period, followed by a 175% return on annual investment over the following years. The results support a long-term approach to assess the financial impact of workplace disability management.