Absence Management Perspectives

Reframing employers' ideas (and assumptions) about loneliness could save them $1.54 billion annually and enhance employee experience in myriad ways. Learn how during this episode with Wendy Coduti, PhD, Regional Director of Health and Productivity Analytics and Consulting Practice for Prudential Group Insurance; and LaToya Rodriguez, MS, CRC, Regional Director of Health and Productivity Analytics and Consulting Practice for Prudential Group Insurance.

Resources:

• The Organizational Effect of Loneliness: Reasons Why Workplace Connection Should be Part of Absence Management Strategies
• A Commonly Missed Link Between Mental and Physical Disabilities Can Cost You
• Transitional Return-to-Work Programs Show Dollars and Sense ROI

Get details on how you can identify (and fill gaps) in disability and absence management from Deborah LaBonar, PhD, DMEC director of benchmarking and research. In addition to providing context for why benchmarking tools created by and for disability and absence management professionals are valuable, you'll get details on how measuring something against a standard helps employers of all sizes and industries, and ways you can use different comparators for different business units within your organization!

Resources:

• Read the latest benchmarking column in the November/December 2024 issue of@Workmagazine for additional insights and stay tuned for a new column series by Deborah LaBonar in 2025: https://dmec.org/work-magazine/answer-the-so-what-question-and-reach-the-c-suite/
• Learn about DMEC surveys and benchmarking reports: https://dmec.org/resources/surveys-and-benchmarking/

Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo, SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP, director of disability and absence management for New York-Presbyterian Hospital, redesigned processes to improve efficiencies, ensure a person-centered approach, and deliver an impressive return on investment. As the first winner of the DMEC Kaleta-Carruthers Innovation Award, Barnes-Iwediebo exemplifies leadership in integrated disability and absence management. Listen in to her story!

More resources:

• Read more about the inaugural DMEC Kaleta-Carruthers Innovation Award and the 2024 DMEC Emerging Leader Award winner in the@Workmagazine articleCelebrating Leadership and Innovation in Disability and Absence Management
• The True Payoff to Integrated Disability Management
• DMEC Awards

Learn how the 2024 DMEC Emerging Leader Award winner is helping employees return to work while providing them with access to resources that help them learn new skills and expand their horizons. Hear about the creative approaches Tamisha Waters, senior personnel analyst I for the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, has taken and her dedication to finding mutually beneficial solutions to leave management challenges!

More resources:

• Read more about the inaugural DMEC Kaleta-Carruthers Innovation Award and the 2024 DMEC Emerging Leader Award winner in the@Workmagazine articleCelebrating Leadership and Innovation in Disability and Absence Management
• The True Payoff to Integrated Disability Management
• DMEC Awards

Where are you on the integrated disability and absence management continuum? Hear how that affects employee experience and an employer's bottom line in this podcast episode with DMEC CEO Bryon E. Bass, CLMS.

Read more about the Kaleta-Carruthers Innovation Award and see a video with DMEC's first award winner Krystle Barnes-Iwediebo: https://dmec.org/awards/kaleta-carruthers-innovation-award/

What’s the secret sauce to helping employees return to work as quickly as possible and remain healthy? Confidence and appropriate mental health accommodations play a key role. Listen in to this discussion with Kerri Wizner, MPH, CPH, head of epidemiology, Alight MD Guidelines, and Keemia Vaghef, PhD, director of value engineering, Alight Leave Solutions, for details about a 4:1 return on investment with mental health supports and why it’s so important to engage and support managers in this process!

Resources:

• Adjusting Mental Health Accommodations Can Make a Meaningful Difference For Employees, feature article in the 2024Mental Health and Well-Beingissue of@Workmagazine (unlocked for podcast listeners)

Research referenced during this episode:

• Influence of Toxic and Transformational Leadership Practices on Nurses' Job Satisfaction, Job Stress, Absenteeism and Turnover Intention: A Cross-sectional Study
• Leaders as Role Models: Effects of Leader Presenteeism on Employee Presenteeism and Sick Leave
• Pride and Confidence at Work: Potential Predictors of Occupational Health in a Hospital Setting
• Workplace Mental Health Training for Managers and Its Effects on Sick Leave in Employees: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial

Recognizing that every absence has a psychosocial element is increasingly important for employers, explains Ian Bridgman, executive director of the Claim Lab, and Fred Schott, consultant with the Council for Disability Income Awareness. It can help employees stay at work and return to work as soon as possible and reduce the risk of employees with mental illness developing physical disabilities. Listen in for insights about why it’s essential to emphasize the human element in absence and disability management.

Resources:

• DMEC@Workmagazine article:Data Proves Correlation Between Depression and Anxiety and Disability
• DMEC Mental Health Resources & Tools
• Reasonable Accommodation Process Resources & Tools

In addition to complying with hundreds of leave laws, employers must support employees more holistically to attract and retain top talent. But how? Hear insights from the 2024 DMEC Annual Conference from Bryon Bass, CLMS, DMEC CEO; Kristin Jones, CLMS, DMEC director of education programs; and Jess Dudley, CLMS, DMEC education manager!

Listen in and register for the 2024 Virtual Annual Conference on Sept. 18 for five of the top-rated sessions and a pre-recorded panel about lessons learned from the Colorado and Connecticut paid family leave implementation: https://dmec.org/conferences-and-events/annual-conference/virtual-event/

Using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool, not a replacement, for humans will be increasingly important for employer success, explains Bryon Bass, CLMS, CEO, DMEC, and Joe Lynett, a principal with JacksonLewis P.C. in this episode. Listen in for examples of AI-related employer risks, including the four-fifths rule. Additional resources:

Additional resources:

• Boon or Bane: Wading Into AI Waters and Defining Risk in IDAM Circles
• Integration Technology 101: Master the Basics for a Better Leave Experience

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) was created to bridge the gap between federal laws, as Carol Miaskoff, legal counsel for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, explains in this episode. Listen in to hear Miaskoff talk with Marjory Robertson, AVP and senior counsel for Sun Life, about top employer challenges. The two also offer guidance from the PWFA rule to support employees and ensure employer compliance!

Resources:

• How Employers Could Get into Trouble Under the PWFA
• DMEC Annual Conference Aug. 5-8 in Nashville
• Section of the EEOC regulations for the PWFA that specify unnecessary delays