As the workforce continues to age and gain weight, new employment-related exposures are arising–one of the many emerging coverage and loss control issues sure to challenge relatively unprepared risk managers in the near future, according to studies released in New Orleans at the annual conference for the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

Indeed, 59 percent surveyed by Specialty Risk Services said they considered overweight employees to be at greatest risk for workplace injuries in the future, with depressed employees a distant second at 20 percent and the aging workforce at 13 percent.

When asked if they had strategies in place to tackle workforce challenges of the future, however, less than half–47 percent–said they have some plans in place, and only 9 percent strongly agreed that their company was prepared.

The studies were part of a research and education effort conducted by SRS, a property-casualty third-party administrator for workers' compensation and liability claims affiliated with The Hartford.

When risk managers were asked about their immediate concerns, “a key factor is the aging workforce,” noted Ken Martino, senior vice president for account management at SRS.

He said this plays into other concerns, such as what will happen as the “boomer” generation begins to retire, which could prompt a “knowledge gap” as experienced employees leave the company, while also undermining productivity.

On the other side of that coin, however, “there is also the issue of people working into their later years,” according to Mr. Martino. “Some results of this may be [a greater frequency of] injuries, which applies to both employees and customers.”

In an office or retail setting, for example, issues such as depth perception, elevation changes and ergonomics come into play and create liability issues when older workers are involved, he noted.

An aging workforce will also force employers to re-examine job functions and the physical tasks employees will be performing, he said, adding that from the risk management side, return-to-work challenges for older people need to be addressed.

His advice to risk managers is to start planning now, as the aging population affects not only risk but productivity factors. “As people retire, where are you going to get your workforce in the future?” he asked.

On the other side of the age spectrum, Mr. Martino said that upcoming generations of workers may be well-trained technically but have very different work habits.

“They're coming up with a whole different idea of what it is to work, what structure works, the communication tools they're using and the way they like to work,” he said.

Along these lines, he noted that older workers in the future will more often be managed by younger workers, which poses other potential employment practices problems. “Will those people who are Internet/text messaging/IM-savvy relate with those people and be able to work with them? That's going to be a challenge,” he predicted.

Another point that came up in the SRS studies, he said, is worker health related to weight gain. This issue impacts industries such as the airline and automotive fields–with seat designs, for example.

As the population ages, Mr. Martino predicted that issues of weight will move to the forefront as medical costs rise. One approach to managing this issue is with built-in incentives.

For example, his company and others are rewarding employees who get regular health appraisals–such as cholesterol and blood pressure screening–with monthly credits on health care insurance, he explained.

The studies found that 52 percent of risk manager respondents worry about rising medical costs, with 12 percent ranking pandemics as their biggest concern. Privacy issues and unhealthy employees tied for third with 6 percent each.

Looking ahead five years, risk manager worries shift to talent management and an unhealthy employee population. Indeed, talent issues topped the list of biggest future concerns at 37 percent, followed closely by rising medical costs at 34 percent.

“Preparedness is critical,” Mr. Martino said, adding that risk managers should consult with their human resources department to determine what their employee base will look like in five years. This includes where workers will be recruited from, and what the demographics will look like.

An emerging workplace exposure issue is cultural diversity, he noted, which could require organizations to develop multilingual safety, training and risk management communications for employees.

In terms of return-to-work challenges, the survey found that motivating an employee to come back to work following an injury tied with motivating supervisors to play a critical role in the process, with both receiving a 33 percent response. Lack of transitional duties came in second at 23 percent.

“I think it all boils down to looking ahead at what the risks are, putting together a solid planning process and utilizing other functions within the company, such as HR and operations,” according to Mr. Martino. “Risk management provides the leadership of how these risks will be dealt with in the future.”

He added that risk managers don't need to be doing this in a vacuum. “They can reach out to their third-party administrators–who are seeing these trends in terms of claims–to work with themas to how they deal with their return to work programs.”

He said TPAs can advise risk managers as to what loss control and safety adjustments need to be made. They can also reach out to other risk managers and to organizations such as RIMS, he added.

Mr. Martino advised that risk managers should consider whether they have employee loss control plans in place for a disaster–such as a natural catastrophe, terrorism event or workplace violence–and whether they are leveraging technology advances to increase productivity and effectiveness.

Simple steps such as re-engineering job tasks and sites for older workers or people with disabilities can pay off tenfold in the long run, he emphasized.

Special Reports /

As Workforce Ages, Gains Weight, New Employment Exposures Emerge

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