How to tackle sickness absences with rewards and benefits
Recent figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that the number of people not working in the UK due to long-term sicknesses at a record high of more than two and a half million.
The ONS says this is due to both mental and physical health problems.
Employers clearly need to address this – both because they have a duty of care to employees and because of the critical impact this trend will have on productivity.
Strategies, not just tactics
Employers need a strategy, not just a reactive tactical response, one that is built on clear knowledge of the issues within their organisation that should inform their overall approach to wellbeing in the workplace.
Of course, many employers are pushing a wide range of benefits that support mental and physical wellbeing, such as gym memberships, cycle-to-work schemes and mental health first aid programmes.
These tactics are valuable and it’s good many organisations are expanding their programmes and promoting them. But these measures only tackle the symptoms of deeper problems with mental and physical issues.
The solution, and the creation of a strategy to tackle the challenge, starts with deeper research and insight.
1. Understand your employee wellbeing problem
Tactical approaches are aimed at tackling immediate problems. A strategic approach seeks to identify and eliminate or at least mitigate the cause.
Employers that want to tackle the whole problem, roots and all, should begin with HR and wider organisational performance data to analyse where mental and physical issues are having an impact – for example, by looking at rates of sickness absence or resignations in remote and hybrid versus office based employees.
They should then overlay and cross reference their findings with analysis of the factors that may be contributing. This may be anything from workloads that reduce time available for exercise, to issues with poor working conditions in the office or at home, or with workplace culture. Or on a more individual level, there might be challenges with care arrangements for people with children under five years old or with older relatives.
Of course, alongside data analysis, employers should also provide employees with the opportunity to identify the problems that affect their wellbeing at work through workshops and surveys.
2. Think prevention before cure
Analysis should also cover emerging issues – particularly those that have become more problematic after the Covid-19 pandemic and with the rise of hybrid working.
A recent Edenred survey of 2,000 employees, for instance, found that 50% didn’t feel their line manager appreciated the work they do. Only 35% thought their manager understood them or their personal challenges.
With insight like this, employers need to think prevention rather than cure and address the core issues before they have a serious impact on long-term wellbeing and productivity. In this case, this could be by sharing the wellness strategy with line managers and retraining them to show more empathy with current circumstances.
3. Ensure wellbeing tactics align with strategy
Having defined what the problem is they want to solve, employers need to decide on the tactical measures they will put in place to bring their strategy to life, provide practical support and demonstrate their commitment to supporting employee health.
An appropriate tactic could mean providing line managers with the tools and mechanisms that will enable them to show regular appreciation and provide tailored rewards and benefits – but without it becoming a burden on their time (for example, through easy-to-manage digital reward platforms with a strong wellbeing focus).
The most important thing is that any such schemes shouldn’t be introduced in isolation. Employers need to support their tactics with ongoing communications, wider support and employee feedback mechanisms - all integrated and designed to tackle the causes of the issues identified. Only then will they have a programme they can measure and refine.
When the ONS sickness absence figures were released in May, commentators observed that the upward trend is one of the key reasons the UK economy has been doing less well than other developed nations’ in recent years.
A well-researched and more robust strategy for tackling this issue is necessary – for the sake of employees, our organisations and the wellbeing of the nation as whole.
In partnership with Edenred
We help you build stronger connections with your employees to drive higher engagement&performance.
