Paul Roberts, Healthcare Consultant, at IHC, looks at the actions that should be taken to support employees who are absent with stress and encourage an early return to work.
When an employee calls in sick because of flu, it is relatively straightforward for a company to predict when that employee might return to work. But now it is far more common to see the less clearly defined condition of stress as a reason for absence.
Employees with stress-related absence can experience problems in the way they think, feel or behave. This can significantly affect their relationships, their work, and their quality of life.
Figures from the Health and Safety Executive and the Institute of Employment Studies show that more than 500,000 people said they were affected by stress at work last year and that 13.4 million working days were lost because of stress and related conditions.
Best practice
The actions that should be taken to support employees and affect an early return to work are:
An offer of a phased return to work, with reduced hours and temporary reassignments, can also help reintroduce an absent employee.
Top tips for tackling stress-related absenteeism
Introduce a ‘Day One’ trigger for stress cases
Depending on company practice and culture, the first action to manage stress-related absenteeism can be on the first day that an employee is not present in the workplace. The line manager simply needs to check the facts surrounding the absence, understand the issues and address the workflow to ensure business continues. This can be done on the phone or face-to-face.
Some line managers are concerned that their approach to the employee may be seen as harassment. To avoid this, line managers should approach their employee from a position of support and help.
Focus discussions on the return to work
Discussions should focus positively on when the employee is likely to return to work, allowing the company to plan workloads and ensure there is not a mountain of work for the employee to come back to. Line managers should highlight the services available to support the employee, such as insurance policies (eg private health insurance for access to a psychiatrist), or an employee assistance programme to access specialist counselling or psychotherapy.
Involve occupational health professionals
If the case is serious, then occupational health professionals can easily be accessed to give a medical opinion for managers to make business decisions on issues such as return dates. A psychotherapist may be required for a specialist professional assessment of a stress case but this should not be taken lightly and the report should be interpreted by an occupational health professional.
Provide supportive environment
It is also important to provide a non-stressful and supportive environment for the employee to return to. Recovery from stress-related illness is likely to be less predictable and less certain than from other illnesses. Consider being flexible with timescales and, where feasible, with workload, so the employee is involved in the decisions – this gives the fastest and most productive results.
Monitor trends
A return to work interview will define the issues involved and can help identify trends of stress-related problems that lead to absence. A simple return to work interview is an easy way to pick up problems early and resolve them.
