It's a universal truth that the longer an employee is absent from work after a job-related injury, the harder it is to return to work at all. Workers' Compensation costs for the employer are higher as well including those related to business expenses such as lost productivity, overtime, decreased morale, increased premiums, and the costs of hiring and training a new employee to replace the injured employee.

An on-the-job injury is the proverbial rock-and-hard-place scenario that spawned Stay-at-Work programs. If planned and executed correctly, Stay-at-Work (and its close cousin, Return-to-Work) provide paths to bring injured workers back to light-duty or transitional work quickly and safely. Both are crucial in controlling Workers' Compensation expenses.

Some employers aggressively develop innovative ways to minimize costs related to worker injuries. Others simply shrug their shoulders at the current insurance landscape, figure they have to pay what they owe, and grudgingly write the checks. It doesn't have to be that way. For employers with significant Workers' Compensation expenditures, a Stay-at-Work program is a proactive way to reduce direct labor expenses.