What can stop the snowball of long-term absence?
What can stop the snowball of long-term absence?
A study among more than 300 HRDs in the UK suggests three-quarters are struggling with rising levels of absence among their staff. 66% point to higher healthcare benefit costs; 34% to lower productivity. In 2023, CIPD figures showed that average sickness absence had jumped to 7.8 days per employee per year).
At the same time, 70% of the HRDs believed they were prepared and able to deal with the implications of rising absence. 22% wanted the government to spend more on the NHS to reduce waiting lists.
Getting proactive
In response, the study has pointed to the most common tactics being used by employers: the adoption of tailored wellness plans and increasing access to physical health resources (around a third of respondents); and investment into technologies to facilitate remote healthcare solutions (35%).
“These are serious and sensitive issues, impacting real everyday people, and they must be treated as such,” said Julia Turney, head of platform and benefits at Barnett Waddingham, the company which undertook the research. “If left unchecked, businesses may soon be dealing with faltering productivity, dissatisfied employees, and even financial losses.” She also highlighted the need for better data and ongoing tracking of wellbeing, health risks and needs.
Prevention mindset
EAPA UK chair, Karl Bennett said: “There will always be reasons for people’s absence due to issues with physical and mental health. But there are better ways to think about and manage absence, and long-term absence in particular.
“What HR and workplaces can do is encourage a positive culture and a mindset when it comes to both physical and mental illness. That means working to understand the context and environment for absence, the root causes — such as unreasonable workloads and targets — that can turn into a cycle of higher absence levels, of people feeling unable to cope.
“EAPs should be playing a central part in the strategic planning of HR departments dealing with rising levels of absence, both in terms of insights into what’s happening across different parts of organisations, as well as how to address the underlying problems.”