Statistics

Statistics Every Employer Should Know

* Over 2 million crimes occur in the workplace annually
* 30% of business failures are due to poor hiring practices (Department of Commerce)

Employees and Substance Abuse

The loss to companies in the United States due to alcohol and drug-related abuse by employees totals $100 billion a year, according to the The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information.

* 70% of substance abusers, 18 and over, are employed
* Substance abusers’ medical expenses run 4 times higher than those of non-abusers
* 25% of substance abusers steal from their employers
* Substance abusers are 4 times more likely to be in a workplace accident and are 5 times more likely to file for Worker’s Compensation

Workplace Violence

United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health and Administration

Violence in the workplace is a serious safety and health issue. Its most extreme form, homicide, is the fourth-leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), there were 564 workplace homicides in 2006 in the United States, out of a total of 5,734 fatal work injuries.
* On-the-job violence costs employers $36 billion each year
* The average award in a workplace violence lawsuit exceeds $1 million per case (Workplace Violence Research Institute)

Employee Fraud and Theft

Estimates of fraud committed by employees cost US companies approximately $20 billion annually.
* Workplace theft tops out at more than $120 billion annually
* 95% of all companies are victims of theft, and yet only 10% ever discover it

Education and Employment Verification Essential for a Successful Company

The rise in resume fraud can be traced to the rise in unemployment, coupled with tough competition among those competing in the labor market for what few jobs are available. Job seekers who don’t have a degree or specialized skills are inventing them out of desperation. For the employer, this translates into a significant problem since applicants who lie on their resumes often become employees who misrepresent issues on the job. It is estimated that resume fraud costs employers approximately $600 billion annually.
(The Greater Lansing Business Monthly)

Employee Resume and Job Applications

* 40% of the information on a resume is misrepresented
* According to a recent study, 67% of job applications and resumes in the U.S. contain misrepresentations (American Psychological Association)

Job applicants tend to minimize their criminal record when applying for a position, often times leaving it off of the application all together. Experience in the industry leads us to believe applicants feel comfortable misrepresenting this information to employers because the employer will not follow through and conduct the criminal background search anyway.
(Robert C. Wright, Executive Director, Employment Screening Services LLC)

Employee Driving Characteristics

What you can do to prevent employee distracted driving:
* Develop and enforce strict driving policies regarding use of cell phones, navigation devices, and other distractions and impediments while driving on company time. Insist that drivers pull over when it’s necessary to use these technologies.
* Employers should carefully screen potential company drivers, checking their driving record to weed out those with citations for drunk driving, speeding or reckless operation.
* 40% of American drivers have a violation on their driving record, while 25% don’t have insurance at all