Stress Linked to Long-Term Absences from Work

Businesses in the U.K. are feeling the pinch of stress in the workplace. Though it is often preventable, stress has come to represent the single most significant health concern among employees in that country today.
The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, also known as CIPD, has just concluded research which puts stress atop the list of health reasons which lead to extended or long-term absences from work. This is the first time in the organization’s 12-year history that stress has held top rank in the category.
When this research is combined with a series of 500 interviews conducted by Group Risk Development, a solid picture of a stressed-out workforce begins to take shape. Group Risk Development, or GRiD, commissioned the survey of 500 employers to learn that 15 percent (or one in six employers) are finding that stress is the number-one reason that employees cite for their long-term absence from the office. A long-term absence is one that lasts longer than four weeks.
There was a significant difference in the number of public sector workers over private sector employees who claim stress as the reason for missing extended times of work. In fact, among the public workforce, 27 percent said stress caused their long absence while only 13 percent of private sector employees said stress kept them from their desks. It could be that public employees feel most threatened by the current economic climate.
The figures show that stress outpaces medical conditions like cancer and heart attack as reasons for long work absences. The number-one reason given for long-term work absence remains home and family concerns (20 percent of the time), but one can readily see how similar the numbers are for stress-related days missed. Consequently, business owners say that stress/mental health issues are the single greatest health concern they face.
What steps can employers take to mitigate the problem? On November 2, the U.K. celebrated Stress Awareness Day, a day given to focusing on job-related stresses. Businesses that took the day seriously took a first step toward diminishing the negative effects of workplace stress.
Other steps businesses can follow include strong emphasis on personnel management skills to identify potential stress situations and implementing Group Income Protection programs, which are essentially disability income guarantee policies. Such programs not only provide continuing income in the event of long-term absences, but they often include measures for providing vocational rehabilitation for those who are unable to continue in their present employment position due to health-related issues.
When you stop to consider current global economic conditions, perhaps it is not so surprising that stress is affecting work attendance more than ever. Evidently, having employment is not enough to stave off the worry monster. Employers who are attentive to employees and interact with them at the closest managerial levels are best able to avoid stress-related extended absences among their staff. After attention and interaction, preparation through Group Income Protection programs is the best means for setting hearts and minds at ease and ensuring uninterrupted productivity.