Managing People With Aids Essay Research Paper

Managing People With Aids Essay, Research Paper

Today, AIDS is the second leading cause of death among adults between the ages of 25 and 44. With more than half of the nation.s 126 million workers in this age group, managers cannot afford to ignore this deadly disease. As more effective drug therapies, such as protease inhibitors, are extending the lives of HIV positive people, an increased number are able to return to the workforce and stay productive. One in six large companies has had an employee with HIV/AIDS and one in 15 companies with 15 to 49 employees has had at least one worker with HIV/AIDS (according to the CDC in Atlanta). The World Health Organization estimates that by the year 2000, there will be 15 million new adult HIV infections, with six million people exhibiting symptoms of the disease. Since 25 % of new cases are in between the ages of 13 to 20 years old, this means that the teenagers of today who are HIV positive are the workers who will develop AIDS in 10 years. In order to be successful into the future, companies need to address HIV-infected workers and workers with AIDS. However, HIV and AIDS pose special challenges to employers.

HOW AIDS IS TRANSMITTED

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the retrovirus that causes AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. While AIDS itself does not kill a person, the disease weakens the person.s immune system, allowing other diseases like Kaposi.s sarcoma invade the body. These opportunistic diseases eventually overwhelm the person.s body. The virus is found in blood and other body products like saliva, sweat, and tears, and can only be transmitted by the exchange of blood, body products, or by sexual contact. Once the HIV virus is exposed to air, it dies instantaneously. This means that someone cannot spread the virus through breathing the same air, or by casual contact such as shaking hands. A person can be infected if he/she has an open wound that comes into contact with infected blood or body products. However, the risk of infection for most employees is very low, since there are a limited number of occupations where a worker will encounter blood or body products.

COST OF AIDS

Employees with AIDS and their Co-workers

HIV-infection and AIDS can be expensive to an employer both directly and indirectly. One issue that managers confront is employee absenteeism. .Those with AIDS spend approximately 16 days a year in a hospital at an estimated cost of $1,000 per day, plus an additional $1,000 a day for medicine, and many more days at home not well enough to come to work.. (Paul and Townsend, p. 9)

Another issue that a manager faces is what to do when the employee cannot perform the duties of their job any longer. The manager must decide whether to restructure the employee.s job, or transfer him or her to another position. Another matter that a manager needs to face is that eventually the employee will be too sick to continue to work. The manager needs to determine when this time has come and how to handle the situation.

The psychological issues that an employee with AIDS faces is also important to consider. Facing death is not easy, and an employee diagnosed with AIDS faces severe psychological stress. Managers must realize that the job performance of the employee may suffer, as they try to come to terms with their fate.

The insurance industry calculates that a typical AIDS patient.s medical bills cost an average of $140,000 from diagnosis to death. According to a study by the Medical College of Georgia, treatment costs for AIDS patients have risen from $12,000 a year in 1992 to $18,000 in 1997. (Greene, p2) Since many employers provide health insurance for their workers, their premiums may go up, especially as more people make AIDS-related insurance claims. The costs for medical, disability, life insurance, and retirement benefits could reach $315,000 for an employee making $75,000 a year. Experts estimate that lost productivity of workers with AIDS could be as high as $500 billion worldwide. (Paul and Townsend, p. 9)

Another issue that AIDS patients face is the potential loss of their insurance coverage. More and more people who left highly skilled jobs when they developed AIDS, are recovering their health with the help of protease inhibitors. However, some employees are afraid to go back to work because of the way their insurance programs are set up.

If a person with AIDS starts a new job and becomes sick within the first six months, their old insurance carrier will still cover them. However, if the person becomes sick again once the six months pass, they will not have any insurance coverage. The reason is that most disability insurance policies do not go into effect until the employee has been with their company for a year. Someone who becomes too sick to work will not retain insurance coverage under either the old or new employer.s policy.

Not only do managers have to deal with the direct costs and problems of employees with AIDS, but they must also deal with the indirect costs and problems with the feelings of those working with someone with AIDS.

People are afraid of contracting AIDS from the infected person. Such fear can affect an entire organization.s productivity, if other employees refuse to work with an AIDS-infected person. Since there is no cure for AIDS, some people feel uncomfortable aro