The indirect costs of diabetesinclude reduced productivity caused by fatigue, understaffing andreduced productivity, as well as poor morale among otherworkers.

Diabetes is definitely taking a toll on both workers and theworkplace, according to "Secrets & Solutions," a survey reportcommissioned by Roche Diabetes Care.

Opinion Research Corp. polled 201 U.S. benefits decision-makersat self-funded companies on behalf of Roche, and found that asubstantial majority (70 percent) say that "finding solutions tothe human and financial burden of diabetes in the workplace" keepsthem up at night.

"Diabetes doesn't quit, and benefits decision-makers are veryaware of the day-to-day physical and emotional demands of thecondition on their employees and the resulting impact on the bottomline," says Adam Berman, director franchise marketing, RocheDiabetes Care.

Related: 10 states with the highest diabetesrates

Diabetes burdens workers, according to the survey. Two in three(67 percent) respondents believe their employees with diabetes findeveryday management of their condition "feels like a secondfull-time job."

While most (81 percent) believe workers with diabetes keep theircondition a secret, an even greater percentage (91 percent) believeemployees would be more inclined to speak up if they could receivea company-sponsored program that simplified diabetesmanagement.

While the topic of diabetes is often hush-hush in the workplace,nearly half (43 percent) of the respondents estimate that at leasta tenth of their employees have the disease–and a few (8 percent)say it's even higher within their workplace, estimating they haveone in five diabetic workers. Nearly half (47 percent) believeprevalence of pre-diabetes is 10 percent or more; 12 percentestimate 20 percent prevalence.

Diabetes also impacts employers' bottom lines, according to thesurvey. The vast majority (86 percent) of respondents believe thatthe difficulty many workers have managing their diabetes isresponsible for their absenteeism and 29 percent of employers haveexperienced increased administrative costs managing absenteeism.Nearly one in three (29 percent) have experienced increased coststo replace workers due to diabetes-related absence.

Moreover, a third (32 percent) of respondents cite indirectcosts of diabetes resulting from fatigue, understaffing and reducedproductivity, and a quarter (23 percent) say other workers sufferfrom poor morale when they are forced to perform work to coverabsent coworkers not able to manage their diabetes well.

One solution? Most (95 percent) of the respondents agree that acompany-sponsored diabetes support package would ease the human andfinancial burden.

Drilling down, 49 percent say helping employees to keep theirblood sugar within an appropriate range has a tangible value forboth the individuals' well-being and the company's bottom line; 90percent think their employees with diabetes would value companyaccess and time to monitor blood sugar and/or take insulininjections; 84 percent believe a company-sponsored program thatsimplified their diabetes management would contribute to increasedproductivity; and 89 percent agree a company-supported program thatwould support employees with diabetes could lead to higher qualityof life and reduced sick time and related expense.

"The survey finding that 90 percent of decision-makers believetheir employees with diabetes would feel more empowered at work ifthey had a company-supported program to help simplify everydaydiabetes management is a powerful motivator for us at Roche,"Berman says. "The RocheDiabetes Health Connection workplacediabetes program helps employers partner with their employees withdiabetes to gain better control of blood sugar levels and feel moreconfident at work and demonstrate the financial benefits to thecompany bottom line and reputation as a caring employer."

Read more: 

• New resource offers guidance on digital tools fordiabetes management
• Diabetes costs employers more than $20 billionannually
• Employers as agents of change: Addressing diabetesand overall health in the workplace