Low back pain affects almost everyone: 4 out of 5 active people have already had back pain during or after work. While sectors such as personal assistance and care, construction, construction, logistics or even the food industry are the most affected, no worker is certain of being able to escape them.
In addition to its impact on the health of employees, back pain is also an economic issue with a direct cost for businesses of 1 billion euros. In fact, one out of five low back pain leads to a work stoppage and represents 30% of work stoppages lasting more than six months. In addition, work-related low back pain has resulted in loss of 12.2 million workdays, or 57,000 full-time equivalents.
Low back pain directly costs businesses over one billion euros per year, and that's just the tip of the iceberg!
The direct cost of more than one billion euros for companies corresponds to their contributions for accidents at work and occupational diseases and is broken down as follows: 120 million euros for care, 580 million euros for daily allowances, and 300 to 350 million euros for after-effects. (1) Low back pain alone is equivalent to the total cost of other MSDs.
For a company with real or mixed individual pricing, the direct cost is an important issue: the more accidents, the more this cost increases. It includes: the insurance contribution rate, doctors, pharmacies, hospitals, hospitals, the rehabilitation of the victim, daily allowances, pensions and annuities, the prevention fund and potential criminal or civil sanctions.
While for VSEs and SMEs with less than 20 employees, even if the rates do not vary, there is a cost that should not be omitted: indirect costs!
The submerged part of the iceberg!
After direct costs, there are indirect costs that should not be overlooked! According toINRS (the National Institute for Research and Security), these indirect costs could be up to ten times greater than direct costs. These expenses, which could be avoided, impact the overall performance of your business.
Indirect costs are numerous, starting with the recovery time of the injured person, the administrative management of the accident, additional compensation, the replacement problem or even the cost of training the replacement.
This disorganization of services can lead to a loss of know-how, delays in delivery, production, and project to the point of causing delays or even contract losses.
On the other hand, it can also promote a decrease in the motivation of other employees, a deterioration of the social climate and therefore tarnish the image of the company.
So, low back pain represents a major, but achievable, challenge for the company. The costs incurred, whether direct or indirect, and the impact on the quality of life of employees suffering from back pain, must become triggers for the company to trigger preventive actions. These actions are numerous and each must take care of reduce activity-related risk factors, which, at the same time, will lead toimprovement of economic performance and health of the company.
To find out more about low back pain at work, discover the INRS brochure ”Work and low back pain, from risk factor to care factor”.
(1) Health Insurance Report — Occupational Risks “Work-related low back pain: what answers can be given to a social, economic and public health issue? ”, Occupational health: challenges & actions, January 2017.
