Productivity Loss From Illness Calculator

Work out productivity loss from illness instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Productivity Loss From Illness Calculator

Applies the human capital approach: working days lost are valued at daily output, counting only cases among people in employment.

Formula

Human capital approach

Loss = cases x employment share x days lost per case x daily output per worker; full-time equivalents = days lost / 250 working days

Worked example

With the default values below, Productivity Loss From Illness Calculator returns Productivity loss of $78,000.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Cases per yearaccepts 1–10,000,000: 500
Working days lost per caseaccepts 0.1–365: 6
Daily output per workeraccepts 1–10,000: 40
Share of cases in employmentaccepts 1–100: 65

Results

Productivity loss: $78,000.00
Working days lost: 1,950.0 days
Loss per case: $156.00
Full-time equivalents lost: 7.80

Step by step

1Values used
2Human capital approach
3Productivity loss= 78,000.00
4Working days lost= 1,950.0 days
5Loss per case= 156.00
6Full-time equivalents lost= 7.80

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the friction cost alternative?

The friction cost method counts only the period until a replacement worker is productive, giving much lower estimates.

Is presenteeism included?

No. Reduced productivity while at work is a separate and often larger component.