Current Absence Trends - January 2009

 

Sick of absence?

Despite perceived increased pressure on employees to be in work, this January has surpassed all previous records for absence after the Christmas break. The increase is primarily due to coughs/colds and flu-like symptoms – and we’re not talking imaginary ‘man flu’. This has been a national problem that encompasses both the public and private sector. The FirstCare medical team attributes the sharp rise to a number of factors, including:

  • A couple of new strains of cold virus appearing in the UK
  • The anxiety and strains of the recession taking its toll on people’s immune systems rendering them more susceptible to catching coughs/colds
  • The extra pressure of job loss forcing employees into the workplace when they should be at home recovering. This can both prolong the recovery period and increase the risk of viruses transferring to colleagues

A huge problem for many organisations has been the significant impact on productivity, with some even enacting part or all of their pandemic planning policies as a result.

The cold snap that we had in the second week of January certainly helped to kill off the virus; and absence rates have fallen closer to their normal seasonal levels; but the anxiety and strains of the recession are undoubtedly still taking their toll on the UK workforce.

The FirstCare medical team expects to see an increase of stress and circumstantial absences throughout 2009. Organisations should act now to ensure that their staff are supported as much as possible. Improving communication with employees is a prudent first step, as many people are unnecessarily concerned about their job security. A little time spent reassuring these employees will reduce their stress and improve their well being.

HR departments should be watching out for key indicators of stress related absence. Coughs, colds and gastrointestinal related absences can all be precursors to long term stress or circumstantial absence. Multiple absence spells in a short period can also be a sign that an employee is unable to cope with the pressure around them. HR managers are well advised to target their stretched resources to introduce and enforce appropriate trigger level alerts to identify and combat this problem.

If you have an Employee Assistance Programme, now is a good time to make sure that all your employees know how and when to use it.