Claudia Nicholls: Back pain is the second most common reason for sick days – what can employers do to help?

The UK is facing a workplace sickness epidemic – 2.8 million people are off work, costing an estimated £150 billion in lost output. The situation is made worse by an NHS in crisis and long waiting lists for treatments. Musculoskeletal (MSK) issues such as muscle, joint and back pain are the second most common reason for sick days – behind only mental health – leaving many employees working while in pain or having to take time off. Over 8 million sick days were taken last year due to MSK issues alone.

 

It’s important for employers to have open discussions with their employees about these issues, so that they can help them stay healthy, recover faster, prevent sickness before it occurs, and, ultimately, take fewer days off work.

 

Back pain – the second most common reason for sick days

 

Back pain at work can be caused by a variety of factors including lifting heavy objects, staying in one position for a long time, or sitting with bad posture. In the last year, employees took an average of 5.7 days off work for MSK, the second highest length of leave after mental health (5.8 days).

 

Data from earlier in 2024 found that almost half of employees (48%) report that not enough breaks at work contribute to back issues, and a similar figure (44%) say that sitting too much has also contributed to the problem.

 

Struggling with chronic back pain doesn’t just leave employees in physical discomfort, it can also have a negative impact on their mental health, with a third (33%) of employees saying their physical health issues have had a negative impact on their mental wellbeing at work. On top of this, it’s bad for business, as it can lead to more frequent workplace absences and affect the wider workforce in terms of satisfaction and productivity. A fifth of people (20%,17%) said that access to physiotherapy would make them happier and more productive at work.

 

Acknowledging the effects of back pain in the workplace

 

Employers need to recognise the detrimental effects of back pain on the workforce, and ensure that employees feel supported and have the tools to prevent and manage this. Creating a supportive workplace culture isn’t easy and requires internal training to outline the risks and solutions. We know from research earlier this year that only two in ten (21%) managers have had training on employee wellbeing, with only half that (10%, 9%) being trained on occupational health specific to their workplace or on office posture/ergonomics. Despite these low figures, over half  (54%) of managers have had health problems brought to their attention.

 

As well as internal training, employers should consider changing workplace practice so employees can feel comfortable reporting issues such as back pain, and less guilty about prioritising their health in order to prevent it. As well as enabling open conversations about health, this might include practical changes, such as encouraging movement through promoting regular breaks and walking meetings. While it’s not always possible for everyone to be walking during meetings, if people don’t need to be collaborating in person, visible on screen or looking at documents then walking is a great option.

 

It’s great if managers can help employees feel empowered to make their own judgement calls – if they’re listening in to a meeting rather than presenting, and their camera is off, they can do so walking. If unsure, employees can double check with their line manager or HR, who should lead by example and encourage a culture of walking meetings.

 

Employers should also promote regular breaks during the working day. Microsoft Teams, which is often used for virtual meetings, has a feature where meetings can be scheduled to end a few minutes early, to give people the chance to take a break. For example, a 30-minute meeting can be made to be 25 minutes long with a 5 minute break at the end. This can be turned on for all meetings or employees can agree when to use this feature. During these short breaks, employees should be encouraged to be active, for example, by taking short walks or stretching.

 

Company-wide solutions could be implemented through “active months”. These involve dedicating months to specific team goals, such as a mindfulness month, which would promote mental wellbeing activities, or a walking challenge month, which would aim to get as many employees moving as possible. Teams could have regular check-ins to share their experiences and achievements for inspiration and a morale boost.

 

For those employees that have desk jobs, it’s important to provide them with an adequate office set up, to prevent future problems caused by bad posture. Employers should introduce regular desk assessments and offer ergonomic equipment such as work chairs and desks both in the office and at home, and allow costs to be claimed back as expenses so employees are not left out of pocket. 

Offer accessible health cover – including those already suffering from back pain

 

Nearly three in ten (27%) Brits are already struggling with back pain at work so, in addition to introducing preventative measures, employers need to proactively support employees by providing affordable and accessible health cover to access necessary treatments.

 

Health cover not only eases the financial burden of healthcare for employees, but also allows them to access support such as physio quickly and easily, recover faster, and take less time off. We know that currently many employers only offer health cover to more senior staff due to the prohibitive costs of private medical insurance (PMI), but with over 300,000 people on the waitlist for NHS community MSK services, there’s real incentive to help the entire workforce access the support we need.

 

Our recent research found that, of those employers who don’t offer their whole workforce health cover, 57% said they would like to offer support to all employees but worry about the expense.

 

Health cover doesn’t always need to take the form of pricier private medical insurance (PMI) – instead, employers should consider health plans, which are cheaper than PMI and can therefore be sustainably offered to all employees.

 

A recent survey found that nearly two-thirds (65%) of employees say that health cover would improve their productivity, as they could address health concerns more quickly.

 

Tailor back pain solutions to your industry

 

There are some industries where back pain-inducing activities, such as being on your feet all day or doing heavy lifting, are part and parcel of the job. It’s therefore important to ensure that any health cover provided is tailored to the needs of the industry, with allowance for offerings such as physio upweighted – just as computer-based jobs might need more eye support.

 

Back pain and other muscle pain were most common among those working in retail (33% and 22%) and healthcare (37% and 19%), suggesting that businesses in these industries would benefit from offering health cover that can provide access to assessments for these conditions.

 

Employers in these industries should also consider how to incorporate practical measures to support their workforce. This may need more planning than employees with desk jobs, for example, they could create a rota for extra 10-minute breaks for individuals and provide a dedicated space where employees can go to stretch during the day. Alternatively, group stretches can be done for the first 5 minutes of lunch hour. Employers could also provide employees with a wellbeing budget, which should be used for things like paying for the gym or buying comfortable shoes, on top of health cover. 

 

The bigger picture: employers feel more responsibility for taking care of their employees’ health

 

Sick days are on the rise, with nearly four in ten HR decision makers (38%) reporting rising numbers of sick days in their organisation, and 70% saying they now feel a greater responsibility to look after their employees’ health due to long NHS waiting lists for treatments.

 

Four in ten (40%) employers have noticed their employees struggling to access NHS care, demonstrating why it’s more important than ever for employers to offer more benefits like health cover.

 

Providing health cover isn’t just about employees – it also benefits employers – as over half (52%) of employees said that, if they had a form of health cover at work, they wouldn’t need to take so much leave because they could see a doctor sooner.

 

With back pain as the second-most common reason for sick leave, it should be a top priority issue for employers. Employers who prioritise employee health end up with a happier, more motivated and more productive workforce, likely leading to better business outputs – the ultimate win-win situation.