The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) report that an average of 7.7 days are taken on sick leave, every year. This is costing, on average, £673 per employee per year, totalling a staggering £12.2 billion in the UK alone. The majority of this cost is associated with a loss of productivity, which costs more than the sick pay and cost of a stand in.
Absenteeism levels were highest for the public sector at an average of 9.1 days per employee, and lowest in the private sector at 7.1 days. Although absence levels in the majority of organisations has decreased since 2010, there has been an increase in the cost to the employer of £73 per person. The public and non-profit sectors reported higher costs of absence per employee, than the private sector.
Cause
The most common cause of short-term absenteeism, of less than four weeks, is minor illness, which includes coughs, colds, flu, stomach upsets, headaches and migraines. This is followed by absence due to musculoskeletal problems and back pain, which are more common for manual workers, and stress, more common in non-manual workers.
More longer-term (four weeks or more) causes are similar to last year, however, stress has overtaken, as the most common cause of absenteeism, suffered by an estimated 27% of workers. Stress is particularly common in the public and non-profit sectors. Could this be because of imposed organisational change and loss of control by staff? Other common causes of long-term absence include acute medical conditions, such as stroke, heart attack and cancer, musculoskeletal conditions, mental ill health and back pain.
Management
According to the CIPD, just under half of organisations have a target in place to reduce absence. There are a number of ways employers can manage short-term absence. Methods include return to work interviews, attendance reviews and disciplinary action for unacceptable absence.
Longer-term absence can also be managed by return to work interviews and attendance reviews, as well as involvement from occupational health teams and risk assessments to assist in the individuals return to work.
It is also common and beneficial for organisations to implement an attendance management policy.
In our next briefing, we will focus on health and well-being initiatives and benefits.