Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Productivity Loss Associated with Substance Use, Physical Health, and Mental Health

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Understanding Military Workforce Productivity

Abstract

Because the military depends on the productivity of individuals and teams of personnel for successful mission accomplishment, it is vital to understand and minimize factors contributing to productivity loss. This chapter examines the extent to which work productivity is impacted by substance use, physical health, and mental health problems. It first presents trends in overall productivity loss as well as trends in productivity loss associated with substance use, physical health, and mental health from 1995 to 2008. It then introduces and examines a health and behavioral health model of productivity loss that integrates the key concepts and measures of substance abuse, physical health, and mental health considered in Chaps. 3, 4, and 5 with an emphasis on how they relate and converge to impact productivity among active duty personnel. The model provides a comprehensive assessment of how health and behavioral factors, taken together, affect productivity in the military. The chapter concludes with a recap of the overall picture of productivity loss in the military and implications for resources and force readiness.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The physical health latent factor did not work well; therefore, this factor was not included as a composite measure.

References

  • Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2008). Systems change: Treating tobacco use and dependence. Retrieved October 11, 2012, from http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/tobacco/systems.htm

  • Bliese, P. D., Adler, A. B., & Castro, C. A. (2011). Research-based preventive mental health care strategies in the military. In A. B. Adler, P. D. Bliese, & C. A. Castro (Eds.), Deployment psychology: Evidence-based strategies to promote mental health in the military (pp. 103–124). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bray, R. M., Pemberton, M. R., Hourani, L. L., Witt, M., Rae Olmsted, K. L., Brown, J. M., et al. (2009). 2008 Department of defense survey of health related behaviors among active duty military personnel. Report prepared for TRICARE Management Activity, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) and U.S. Coast Guard. Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooke, P. P., & Price, J. L. (1989). The determinants of employee absenteeism: An empirical test of a causal model. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 62, 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Claxton, A. J., Chawla, A. J., & Kennedy, S. (1999). Absenteeism among employees treated for depression. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 41, 605–611.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • D’Abate, C. P., & Eddy, E. R. (2007). Engaging in personal business on the job: Extending the presenteeism construct. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 18(3), 361–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Defense. (1986, March 11). Directive No. 1010.10. Health promotion. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Defense.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, S. M. (n.d.) The inflation calculator. Retrieved June 4, 2013, from http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

  • General Accounting Office. (1970). Comptroller general’s report to subcommittee on alcoholism and narcotics. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, A. L., Ganesan, V., Towell, A., & Kirkham, F. J. (2002). Functional outcome following stroke in children. Journal of Child Neurology, 17, 429–434.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, M. T., Shikiar, R., Rentz, A. M., & Khan, Z. M. (2001). Impact of smoking status on workplace absenteeism and productivity. Tobacco Control, 10, 233–238.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, D. A., & Martocchio, J. J. (1998). Time for absenteeism: A 20-year review of origins, offshoots, and outcomes. Journal of Management, 24(3), 305–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harwood, H. J., Zhang, Y., Dall, T. M., Olaiya, S. T., & Fagan, N. K. (2009). Economic implications of reduced binge drinking among the military health system’s TRICARE Prime plan beneficiaries. Military Medicine, 174, 728–736.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hemp, P. (2004). Presenteeism: At work—But out of it. Harvard Business Review, 82(49–58), 155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hourani, L. L., Bray, R. M., Marsden, M. E., Witt, M., Vandermaas-Peeler, R., Scheffler, S., et al. (2007). 2006 Department of defense survey of health related behaviors among the guard and reserve force (Technical Report No. RTI/9842/001/201-FR). Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hourani, L. L., Williams, T. V., & Kress, A. M. (2006). Stress, mental health, and job performance among active duty military personnel: Findings from the 2002 Department of Defense Health-Related Behaviors Survey. Military Medicine, 171, 849–856.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S., Casswell, S., & Zhang, J. F. (1995). The economic costs of alcohol-related absenteeism and reduced productivity among the working population of New Zealand. Addiction, 90, 1455–1461.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaestner, R., & Grossman, M. (1998). The effect of drug use on workplace accidents. Labour Economics, 5, 267–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Akiskal, H. S., Ames, M., Birnbaum, H., Greenberg, P., Hirschfeld, R. M., et al. (2006). Prevalence and effects of mood disorders on work performance in a nationally representative sample of U. S. workers. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 1561–1568.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKenzie, T. D., Bartecchi, C. E., & Schrier, R. W. (1994). The human costs of tobacco use (2). New England Journal of Medicine, 330, 975–980.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P. (2008). Introduction to statistical mediation analysis. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mattiko, M., Rae Olmsted, K., Brown, J. M., & Bray, R. M. (2011). Alcohol use and negative consequences among active duty military personnel. Addictive Behaviors, 36, 608–614.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mehay, S., & Webb, N. J. (2007). Workplace drug prevention programs: Does zero tolerance work? Applied Economics, 39, 2743–2751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2010). Mplus user’s guide (6th ed). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinder, E., Gilbert, A., Rhodes, J., Brown, D., & Bates, M. (2011). Worksite health promotion: Wellness in the workplace. Silver Spring, MD: Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricci, J. A., & Chee, E. (2005). Lost productive time associated with excess weight in the U.S. workforce. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 47(12), 1227–1234.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Riedel, J. E., Lynch, W., Baase, C., Hymel, P., & Peterson, K. W. (2001). The effect of disease prevention and health promotion on workplace productivity: A literature review. American Journal of Health Promotion, 15, 167–191.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, W. F., Ricci, J. A., Chee, E., & Morganstein, D. (2003). Lost productive work time costs from health conditions in the United States: Results from the American Productivity Audit. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 45(12), 1234–1246.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2009). Results from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-36, HHS Publication No. SMA 09–4434). Rockville, MD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanielian, T., & Jaycox, L. (Eds.). (2008). Invisible wounds of war: Psychological and cognitive injuries, their consequences, and services to assist recovery. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, MG-720-CCF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, P. J., & Thomas, M. D. (1994). Effects of sex, marital status, and parental status on absenteeism among Navy personnel. Military Psychology, 6(2), 95–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Justice. (2010). National Drug Threat Assessment 2010. Johnstown, PA: National Drug Intelligence Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vinokur, A. D., Pierce, P. F., Lewandowski-Romps, L., Hobfoll, S. E., & Galea, S. (2011). Effects of war exposure on air force personnel’s mental health, job burnout and other organizational related outcomes. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16(1), 3–17.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • World Federation for Mental Health. (2010). Mental health and chronic physical illnesses: The need for continued and integrated care. Retrieved June 14, 2013, from http://www.wfmh.org/2010DOCS/WMHDAY2010.pdf

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

    Robert M. Bray, Laurel L. Hourani, Jason Williams, Marian E. Lane & Mary Ellen Marsden

Authors
  1. Robert M. Bray
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Laurel L. Hourani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jason Williams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Marian E. Lane
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Mary Ellen Marsden
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bray, R.M., Hourani, L.L., Williams, J., Lane, M.E., Marsden, M.E. (2014). Productivity Loss Associated with Substance Use, Physical Health, and Mental Health. In: Understanding Military Workforce Productivity. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78303-1_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78303-1_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-78302-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-78303-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation