The financial and operational effects of sickness absence are considerable, especially for small organisations. According to the most recent independent review of sickness absence*, sickness absence costs the economy around £15 billion a year. There are direct and indirect costs associated with sickness absence, including:
- paying salaries or sick pay to absent workers;
- reduced productivity;
- compromised customer satisfaction;
- increased demands on other staff;
- finding, training and paying for temporary cover.
The flip-side of absenteeism is presenteeism, namely employees coming to work when they are really too ill to work productively. Presenteeism can actually be counterproductive due to lost productivity and, in the case of infectious illnesses, because employees risk infecting others when they come to work ill. For this reason, employers/managers should be trained to spot the symptoms of physical and mental illness and be aware of the support that’s available to reduce the impact of employees’ ill health on the organisation. Otherwise they risk allowing issues to mount up and cause even greater disruption in the future.
So what aspects should organisations consider when working towards making the workplace healthier?
- Work speed: When someone is ill, the speed at which they work reduces and their accuracy, judgement and reactive skills can be impaired. Are they really being productive? Would they make a better recovery if they were at home? What can you do to support them?
- Contagiousness: If someone is contagious, they could infect other members of the team and cause a far greater drop in productivity than if they had stayed at home.
- Spotting the symptoms of stress/depression: The symptoms of stress and depression may not be obvious, but low morale in the workplace can rub off on other people. One person’s stress can soon spread to the team.
- Word-of-mouth: How someone is supported through a period of sickness can reflect positively or negatively on an organisation’s reputation. What are your employees saying about you and how you deal with employee health?
- Rewards: The rewards for being a flexible employer will be evident in the commitment and loyalty of your staff. If you go the extra mile for them, they will go the extra mile for you.
- Reputation: If you are known as a great employer, you will find great people.
- Employee rights: Are you aware of employee rights when considering how to handle employees who are affected by long-term ill-health?
- Liability: Are you aware of your liability if someone has an accident at work while you knew they were unwell?
- Employment law: Are you aware of your rights when considering dismissal due to ill health?
The Health for Work Adviceline offers free, immediate, professional help to organisations who want to support employees who are experiencing ill health at work and safeguard the productivity of their organisation. Information can be sought online or by calling Freephone 0800 0 77 88 44.
*Black, C. and Frost, D. (2011) Health at work – an independent review of sickness absence London: The Stationery Office







The data used to evaluate the performance of the Adviceline services (see Part 1 of this blog (posted on 28 March) for more detail on the service) was collected in a number of ways through:

