+ March 2010 Information
In these difficult economic times many organisations are seeking to control operational costs to achieve their financial targets. Sickness absence is an important variable cost that is attracting increasing attention. In recent months I have responded to a number of customer enquiries to advise and support their sickness absence management programmes. In my experience there is often no need for new policy or procedures to better control sickness absence costs. Rather it is important that the senior management set a visible target and provide leadership to hold line management accountable to achieve their target. It often helpful to make the target a regular board agenda item and to quantify the absence reduction target as a financial in preference to a days/employee measure.
Setting and monitoring an absence reduction target requires good measurement systems. It is essential that all absence is recorded as it is often under-recorded in some areas such as management departments. Targets should respect the different absence rates for different occupational groups in preference to a single organisation target. Higher absence levels are often observed in manual occupations and in younger female groups. Also, short term absence tends to be more common than long term absence (>4 weeks) with a 60:40 ratio. Ineffective management of long term absences can result in a big increase in overall absence due to a few long term absences contributing a large amount of absence time.
A strong partnership with your Occupational Health provider can assist line management and HR to better understand and intervene to reduce sickness absence. Initially this might involve addressing long term absence cases to resolve issues and encourage return to work. This is often a ‘quick win. Subsequently a system of early referral for employees with stress and musculoskeletal conditions can provide health assistance to avoid protracted absence. Referral to counselling or physiotherapy services is a proven cost benefit in controlling absence costs. An active dialogue and sharing of management and occupational health experience provides line managers with sustainable experience and confidence to effectively manage their employee’s absence. This is preferable to delegating their responsibility to external telephone services dealing only with short term absences.
Difficult economic times are likely to be with us for many future years and investment now in developing effective sickness absence management systems will help sustain organisations cope with challenging financial demands. Please contact your local WellWork Office if you would like to discuss how our occupational health services can assist your organisation.
+ April 2010 Health Information - Stress
When I started in occupational health practice over twenty five years ago I saw many cases of stress related illness including heart attacks and duodenal ulcers. These conditions are less common today due to improved medical prevention and treatment. However stress related illness now presents more commonly as mental health illness and account for about 40% of all sickness absence from work. It is my experience that mental health illness is often due to personal circumstances such as broken relationships or financial worries. However, there are many cases of work-related stress due to high work pressures and impaired working relationships.
The THOR (The Health and Occupational Reporting) Network surveillance scheme led by the University of Manchester Centre for Occupational Health monitors the incidence of many common work-related diseases. The THOR report for Q4 2009 provides interesting information on the precipitating events for work-related mental health illness. Data on nearly two thousand cases shows that anxiety and depression accounted for 55% of all cases and work-related stress accounted for 38% cases. Work-related stress was more common in the Health and Social Care sectors. The commonest factors precipitating work-related illness included those intrinsic to the job (high workload pressures 51% and organisational factors 32%) and those related to interpersonal relationships (bullying 33% and difficulties with manager 32%).
The prevention of work-related stress is a health and safety responsibility. The Health & Safety Executive has published a set of Management Standards for work related stress and provides a set of Tools & Downloads at www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards . There is a legal duty to assess potential work-related stress using the six areas of Demands, Control, Support, Relationships, Role and Change and implement any necessary measures to prevent work-related stress.
A happy workforce is often a productive workforce with less absence, less turnover and fewer accidents ... good health is good business. Please contact your local WellWork Office if you would like to discuss how our occupational health services can assist your organisation.
