Worker performance may be deteriorating as economic conditions force more “working wounded” to remain on the job rather than file disability claims, Thomas Parry, president of the Integrated Benefits Institute, told Comp Time.

Mr. Parry's observations are based on a survey conducted by the San Francisco-based IBI The survey of as many as 13,000 employers inquired about disability and workers compensation claims.

A recent Business Insurance story available here on IBI's survey reported that employers did not experience dramatic changes in the incidence of short-and long-term disability claims from 2008 to 2010 when unemployment increased by 65%.

The survey also found that new workers compensation claims fell during the 2008 to 2010 period.

But while the great recession has not impacted claims incidence, worker performance is likely suffering simultaneously with employers trimming their workforces, Mr. Parry said.

“It's pretty clear that people are not filing claims that might otherwise file them and they are staying at work,” Mr. Parry said. “It probably has other effects, not on absence, but on performance that maybe a lot of employers are not paying attention to.”

Because the current financial crisis has led to rare unemployment conditions, observers have wondered whether those conditions would lead to a large spike in disability and workers comp claims because compressed workforces are facing increased job-related stress and pressures.

Or, would the lack of jobs mean more employees are willing to work with illness and injuries out of reluctance to file claims for fear of losing their jobs.

“The evidence would really lead to that second conclusion,” Mr. Parry said.

IBI's survey results suggest that there are economic issues beyond what the statistics reveal about claims durations and incidence, Mr. Parry said.

“On the one hand, you can argue it's great that disability is going down,” Mr. Parry continued. “But if the truth is that people that might file claims are trying to hold on and work, then you have this issue of performance, particularly as employers are downsizing.”

The same may be occurring for workers comp claims, he said.