Making health and wellbeing at work better
Taking care of health and wellbeing at work is good for
business. Without good workplace health, sickness absence can go up
and productivity can come down - so can staff morale. Poor
workplace health affects your ability to recruit and retain quality
staff; this in turn affects your reputation and your turnover.
Workers took on average seven and half days off work sick in
2010 (CIPD), a cost to employers of more than £16
billion.
The top five most common causes of short term absence from
work:
- Minor illnesses (colds, flu, stomach upsets, headaches and
migraines)
- Musculoskeletal injuries (e.g. neck strains, repetitive strain
injury not back injuries)
- Back pain
- Stress
- Home and family responsibilities
The top five most common reasons for long term absence from
work:
- Acute medical conditions (e.g. stroke, heart attack,
cancer)
- Musculoskeletal (neck strains, repetitive strain not back
injuries)
- Stress
- Mental ill-health (e.g. clinical depression and anxiety)
- Back pain
Back, neck and repetitive strains and stress all get worse over
time if they are not treated. So it is no surprise they are the
common causes for short and long term sickness. All of these causes
for sickness absence can be treated or cured - the key is to catch
it early.
While it is important to manage sickness absence; it is equally
important to make sure that employees who are sick take time off to
get well. According to the CIPD, more people are
coming into work sick for fear of losing their job.
Coming in sick, or presenteeism, can have a damaging effect on
organisations' productivity say CIPD. Ill employees are likely to
work less effectively than usual, and may be more prone to costly
mistakes or transmit their illness to colleagues, resulting in
further reduced work efficiency. Presenteeism is also a sign of
anxiety. Failure by organisations to address employees' concerns
may lead to mental health problems and costly longer-term
consequences.
Workplace health is about physical and mental wellbeing; the two
to go hand in hand. For example, an employee suffering from back
pain may start to feel stressed if it's affecting their work;
stress could lead to depression and this may slow down their
recovery and lead to long term sickness. To avoid this scenario, we
need to deal with the physical problem - the back pain, the working
environment - for example, their desk and chair set up, as well as
their emotional wellbeing - how do they feel.
Poor health and wellbeing in your workplace costs you time and
money. The benefits of good wellbeing and health practices are
clear:
- Better performance and attendance
- Improved morale
- Increased productivity
- Better retention and recruitment
- Better company profile and culture
- Fewer injuries
Wellbeing and health services at work simply make good business
sense.