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Workplace absence records broken after a decade

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Joanne Swann
a person laying in a bed under a blanket

UK employees were absent an average of 7.8 days over the past year according to new survey findings from the CIPD and Simplyhealth. This is the highest level of workplace absence reported in over a decade and two whole days more than the pre-pandemic rate of 5.8 days.

The upsurge in sickness absence comes at a time when employers are under increasing pressure with recruitment and retention challenges. As a result, the CIPD and Simplyhealth are calling on organisations to have an open and supportive culture where people can speak to line managers about health issues and access helpful support and adjustments such as flexible working options and health services.

The survey analysed trends in sickness absence and employee health and wellbeing among 918 organisations, representing 6.5 million employees.

As well as an overall increase in absence, it found stress to be a significant factor for both short- and long-term absence, with over 76% of respondents reporting stress-related absence in their organisation in the past year.

In response to the findings, Rachel Suff, Senior Employee Wellbeing adviser at the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, commented:

We need a more systematic and preventative approach to workplace health. This means managing the main risks to people’s health from work to prevent stress as well as early intervention to prevent health issues from escalating where possible. It’s important that organisations create an open, supportive culture where employees feel they can come forward.

Rachel Suff, Senior Employee Wellbeing adviser at the CIPD

The results of the survey found…

Top causes of short-term absence

  • Minor illnesses (94%)
  • Musculoskeletal injuries (45%)
  • Mental ill health (39%)

Causes of long-term absence

  • Mental ill health (63%)
  • Acute medical conditions, such as stroke or cancer (51%)
  • Musculoskeletal injuries (51%)

The findings also show that over a third (37%) of organisations reported COVID-19 as still being a significant cause of short-term absence. However, organisations are attempting to address health and wellbeing issues overall, through a range of support. In fact, 69% of organisations offer occupational sick pay leave schemes for all employees and 82% provide an employee assistance programme (EAP).

Overall, 53% of organisations surveyed have a stand-alone wellbeing strategy, which is a slight increase from CIPD’s previous survey in 2021 (50%). Claudia Nicholls, Chief Customer Officer at Simplyhealth said:

With record numbers of people off sick, employers have a vital role to play in supporting them through workplace health and wellbeing services. They can have a positive impact on the economy and ease pressure on the NHS. Despite an increasing number of workplace health and wellbeing services being put in place, employees are experiencing increasing mental health issues and the highest rate of sickness absence in a decade. However, focussing on fixing sickness alone is unlikely to uncover areas where any significant improvements can be made; companies need to implement preventative health and wellbeing strategies that are supported by the most senior levels of leadership and build line manager skills and confidence to support wellbeing.

Claudia Nicholls, Chief Customer Officer at Simplyhealth

Joanne Swann, Content Manager, WorkWellPro
Editor at Workplace Wellbeing Professional | Website |  + posts

Joanne is the editor for Workplace Wellbeing Professional and has a keen interest in promoting the safety and wellbeing of the global workforce. After earning a bachelor's degree in English literature and media studies, she taught English in China and Vietnam for two years. Before joining Work Well Pro, Joanne worked as a marketing coordinator for luxury property, where her responsibilities included blog writing, photography, and video creation.

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