The impact of allergies and allergy treatment on worker productivity

Allergic disorders are a chronic and highly prevalent condition in the gene ral population and the workforce. Their effect on workers and corporate cos ts go beyond the direct cost of treatment, as the condition can Lower a wor ker's productivity. Previous research includes estimates of the decrease in productivity associated with allergic disorders. None of these studies, ho wever, offered an objective measure of how worker productivity is affected by allergic disorders. In the present study, the productivity of telephone customer service representatives suffering from allergic disorders is exami ned before, during, and after the ragweed pollen season. In addition, these workers were surveyed as to the type of medication they used in response t o their condition. A significant correlation was observed between an increa se in pollen counts and a decrease in productivity for workers with allergi es. Compared with workers without allergies, employees with allergies who r eported using no medication showed a 10% decrease in productivity. No diffe rences were observed among workers with allergies using different types of medications, although the medication groups had significantly higher produc tivity than the no-medication group, The expected lowered productivity of t hose workers with allergies who used sedating antihistamines may have been offset by their relatively lower level of symptom severity and by the natur e of the job and the productivity measures used.