LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, business and health leaders join forces to announce the formation of the ms&work coalition, the first group of its kind to address the needs of people living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in the workplace across Europe. The coalition, an alliance of Merck Serono; a leading healthcare company, Microsoft Corp, Employers’ Forum on Disability (EFD) and the European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA) was announced at the 5th Joint Triennial Congress of ECTRIMS and ACTRIMS, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
“Merck Serono is committed to improving the lives of people living with multiple sclerosis and hope to demonstrate this further through the ms&work coalition”, said Dietmar Eidens, Head of Global Human Resources at Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA. “We welcome working with Microsoft, the European Federation of Neurological Associations and the Employers’ Forum on Disability and are delighted to see this initiative gaining traction with such strong partners coming on board.”
The ms&work coalition aims to highlight the challenges faced by people living with MS in the workplace and act as a catalyst for change by shifting attitudes and perceptions of MS from a disabling condition to a manageable condition. By bringing together a group of multi-disciplinary partners – the first of its kind, including both large employers and patient organisations – the campaign hopes to build a real case for change and take significant steps towards empowering employers to address this issue and people living with MS to prolong their working lives.
“Microsoft is proud to be involved in a coalition that puts the needs of people living with multiple sclerosis at the core of its activities,” said Ellen Kampel, Public Affairs Manager, Microsoft Accessibility. “The Europe 2020 Strategy calls for economic growth based on a smart, sustainable and inclusive model with the aim of creating a labour market that fully leverages the untapped potential of all Europeans.”
Studies involving people living with MS report excessively high rates of unemployment and job loss with almost half of patients with MS leaving the workforce within three years of being diagnosed.1 Results from the Consider MS survey (commissioned by Merck Serono, May 2011) further revealed that of those surveyed, 80% of people with MS said they needed more support from their employers than they are currently getting in order to continue working2 reinforcing the urgent need to focus on solutions for people living with MS in the workplace.
“The perception of multiple sclerosis is that it is a physically and mentally debilitating condition,” said Amanda Worpole of the European Federation of Neurological Associations. “One of the most challenging aspects of multiple sclerosis is its unpredictability - each MS patient will have a different disease development rate, meaning that individualisation of treatment, and by association, flexible lifestyles and working practices are crucial to patients.”
“The impact isn’t just felt by employees but employers as well,” said Catherine Grinyer, Director of Policy and Communications, Employers’ Forum on Disability. “In this challenging business environment, employers can save costs and improve productivity by retaining their experienced, talented staff. Making adjustments for staff that develop multiple sclerosis makes business sense as it helps employers do this.”
The ms&work coalition plans to commission an independent researcher to conduct research across multiple markets throughout Europe in an effort to demonstrate the broader societal and individual costs of MS and the corresponding benefits of prolonging the working lives of people living with MS. The results of the research are anticipated in the first half of 2012.
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About multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory condition of the central nervous system and is the most common, non-traumatic, disabling neurological disease in young adults. It is estimated that approximately two million people have MS worldwide. While symptoms can vary, the most common symptoms of MS include blurred vision, numbness or tingling in the limbs and problems with strength and coordination. The relapsing forms of MS are the most common.
About the ms&work coalition
The ms&work coalition aims to shift attitudes towards MS from a disabling condition to a manageable condition, underlining at the same time the broader societal costs of MS and the importance and benefits to the economy, to society and to the individual, of prolonging the working lives of people living with MS, because work matters. The coalition is currently made up of Merck Serono, a biopharmaceutical company; Microsoft, a leading international technology corporation; Employers’ Forum on Disability, the world's leading employers' organisation focused on disability; and, the European Federation of Neurological Associations whom bring together European umbrella organisations of neurological patient advocacy groups.
1 Multiple Sclerosis International Federation Survey on Employment and MS (April 2010) http://www.msif.org/en/get_involved/world_ms_day_2010/survey_results.html
2 Merck Serono, Consider MS: Addressing Multiple Sclerosis in the Workplace survey results (May 2011)
© MerckSerono, October 20, 2011. All rights reserved.