Successful absence management is about moving away from focusing on sickness to encouraging employees to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing. Pamela Gellatly, chief executive of healthcare risk consultancy, Healthcare RM tells us why.

The number of days lost through absence and the associated cost to UK businesses has been well documented. But while many organisations now routinely monitor sickness absence, when it comes to managing absence, current approaches tend to see illness as incompatible with work and work as a barrier to recovery. My own experience, however, shows quite the opposite. People are in fact happier and healthier when they are in work, providing the illness/injury is properly assessed, the treatment is appropriate and the recovery and return to work process has been properly managed. 

The CIPD reports that the top two causes of sickness absence are musculoskeletal disorders and mental health issues, such as stress, anxiety and depression. While, proactive people management practices, such as flexible working, good quality line management, giving employees a voice and training and development opportunities are important in lowering levels of stress and increasing employee wellbeing, there are also a number of other preventative and proactive measures that organisations can take. Occupational health assessments, for example, which look at the physical and psychological risks not only from an occupational perspective but also where possible from a personnel aspect can significantly reduce potential sickness absence in the long term whilst also helping to improve productivity and general health and wellbeing. 

So what additional steps can employers take to manage absence more effectively?

Identify a health problem early
Once employee health risks have been identified and understood, one of the first steps should be to develop a process to help early identification of any health problem, if possible before any absence is taken and if not then, within the first week of absence. This does not necessarily mean intervening early but rather assessing an employee swiftly to see whether he or she needs to be referred to a health professional or can, in fact, help themselves – self-help and guided self-help is now very appropriate for many musculoskeletal and mental health problems.

Place line managers at the heart of the process
It makes sense that line managers should be at the heart of this process. In fact, they are the key to managing attendance and this should become part of their responsibilities and be monitored as such. Training them to understand the clinical, legal, occupational and financial aspects of ill health is also important. In addition, the support of a case manager will ensure appropriate referrals, the right intervention and a focused rehabilitation programme helping the employee to manage illness and return to work successfully. This approach, with the line manager and case manager working closely together, is the key to good absence management and will help to drive down the costs associated with sickness absence, treatment and injury claims and will help employees not only manage the current ill health episode but should also address the underlying causative or contributory risk factors for future episodes.

Use an evidence-based approach for diagnosis and recovery
Research over recent years has identified that many physical conditions are affected by a patient’s attitude and beliefs to pain and this is particularly true of musculoskeletal and mental health conditions – the two most common reasons for employee absence. The evidence-based, Biopsychosocial (BPS) approach – which has been around for a number of years, but is not widely practiced – sees health as best understood in terms of a combination of biological, psychological and social factors rather than purely in biological terms and is particularly effective when applied to an employee’s diagnosis and recovery. 

Working directly with organisations to manage sickness absence, we have found that this particular approach, which works with individuals to address both the underlying causative and trigger factors associated with stress, anxiety and depression or any form of musculoskeletal disorder, achieves success in 90% of cases where the person is willing to engage in the programme. 

Help and support employees to self-manage a health problem
Once the individual’s illness or injury has been properly identified and the appropriate course of treatment prescribed, the next step in the recovery process is to combine exercise and nutritional advice specifically suited to that individual in order to reduce the risk of reoccurrence and to help the individual to self-manage the problem.  The emphasis should be very much on returning to work as an important part of returning to normal life, while learning techniques to help prevent future problems.

Don’t underestimate the healing power of work
Successful absence management is about educating both line managers and employees that work is actually good for you and that being absent is not always the best approach to recovery. Where possible, it is better for the employee to return to work on modified duties provided that this is carefully timetabled and for a relatively short-term period. If this adjustment in duties needs any longer than four to six weeks, then managers may wish to consider temporarily or permanently redeploying the employee. Remaining in work requires careful management but aiming to support an employee at work rather than home can help to speed up the recovery process and therefore is beneficial to the employee and the business.

Promote a healthy lifestyle
The buzzwords of health and wellbeing promotes the opportunity for the healthcare industry to sell more products to employers such as lifestyle assessments, health screening or gym memberships. However such products are often costly and may not have a great impact on the health and in turn attendance of staff. Common problems such as lack of exercise, poor nutrition, drinking too much, smoking or drug use, all have the potential to impact on attendance and those most at risk often do not change their behaviours over a sustained period sufficient to become real lifestyle changes.

Supporting improvements in employees’ health should be focused on adapting an organisational culture which actively encourages regular exercise, a good diet and a sensible alcohol intake. This can be done at a relatively low cost through activities such as sponsored sports events or creating competitions between teams, departments and sites. Assigning a number of ‘health’ champions across the organisation can also make a real difference and help generate buy-in from employees. 

Managing absence effectively requires dedication to accurate data collection and a clear policy within an organisation. But it is also about taking the focus away from sickness and creating a culture that encourages employees to adopt healthy lifestyles. The benefit for the organisation is not only lower levels of absence but a more productive and motivated workforce.

www.healthcare-rm.com