FEATURE INSIGHT
there may be a problem with the working conditions. A little investment in resolving this can save huge sums of money by reducing absence, and also helps protect the business against legal claims. “Where businesses suffer from high absence rates the key is getting under the skin of these to understand why. However, this is often very hard to do as businesses don’t have the visibility in the first place,” explains Norgate. “For many businesses even being able to see an accurate list of absences would be a revelation.” He believes that once a business is confident that absence tracking is accurate then the data collected becomes invaluable. Modern tools will provide absence data to the end user via analytical dashboards. These dashboards are designed to help businesses spot patterns and trends and then dig into the underlying data to understand the causes. Looking beyond systems Of course, absence management cannot rely solely on software. “Employers should ensure they have robust policies to manage absence.
Understanding the business case supporting the investment can also be difficult, especially if absence data is not readily available,” says Gilbert. “Reviewing existing and readily available case studies provide details of how absence management can provide overall cost savings against investment and these, along with some high-level understanding of the current business absence levels, tied into existing policy can support the case for investing in an absence management system.” ...modern absence tracking software can help pin-point issues in key areas of a business... Tonks agrees that policies need to be drawn up so that both managers and their reportees know where they stand. “Managers need to react appropriately in order to balance the needs of the
organisation with the needs of the employees. After all, everyone gets sick from time to time and feeling that you have to attend work, even when you aren’t fit to do so, doesn’t help employee engagement,” he says. “There also needs to be consistency in approach – how an employee is treated with regards to absence shouldn’t depend on the attitude of their manager.” Clearly there is no doubt that modern absence tracking software can help pin- point issues in key areas of a business, such as whether it is always the same teams that are sick, if it is location driven, or if it is only affecting certain jobs. However, this should be just the beginning for organisations that are serious about addressing absence within their workplaces. By first understanding what is driving the problem, they can then put targeted measures in place to help managers and individuals tackle it and ultimately boost employee engagement. With the right approach, employers will benefit from not only staff who are in better health, but a bottom line that is as well. n
Absenteeism, presenteeism, productivity
R esearch from Britain’s Healthiest Workplace (http://bit.ly/2k43J1h), which in 2016 surveyed more than 32,538 workers across all UK industries, revealed that high stress and lack of physical activity are causing industries to lose up to 27 days of productive time per employee each year. The study, which was conducted by VitalityHealth, Mercer, the University of Cambridge and RAND Europe, found that productivity varies enormously between industries with some losing almost 27 days per employee per year compared to a national average of 23.5 days. Industries with higher productivity losses typically have higher levels of work-
related stress. Transportation, shipping and logistics – the worst industry for stress and lack of physical activity and the third least productive industry – highlight the correlation between these two factors and productivity output. The high-tech industry, on the other hand, scores highest in the productivity stakes, losing just 19 days per employee per year. High-tech employees are the most physically active, with 71.5% of employees in the healthy range, and are also the least stressed. The study (http://bit.ly/2vuR0GL) also found the following: ● The public sector has both the biggest percentage of employees suffering signs of stress, depression and financial worries and
the highest estimated loss of productivity from absences and presenteeism. ● Employees with flexible hours and the ability to work from home report lower absences and greater job satisfaction. ● Those with inflexible hours, who are office-based and who face long commutes, are less productive and in poorer health. ● There is a strong correlation between participation in workplace programmes and improved health and productivity. ● Less presenteeism is reported among staff involved in initiatives to lose weight, exercise more and sleep an optimal seven to eight hours a night. The average annual productivity loss in the UK is estimated to be £57billion. n
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | October 2017 | Issue 34 46
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