Leading causes of sickness absence: what are they & how to manage them
To effectively bring down the cost of sickness absence, you'll need to know the common reasons for sickness in your organisation. So, what are the top reasons for sick leave in the UK and how can you tailor your approach to each type?
A recent Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) survey investigated UK absence trends. The report breaks common reasons for sick leave down by sector. From this, it's possible to compare reasons for sickness across organisations. It also highlights the importance of HR knowing prevalent reasons for sick leave and how best to address them.
Here are the sickness categories that emerged as the most common reasons for short-term sickness absence.
1. Minor illness (includes colds, flu, stomach upsets and headaches)
Less serious kinds of sickness, such as colds, were the top reason for employees calling in sick last year. In total, 75 per cent of short-term sickness was a result of minor illness. The figure suggests that minor illness is costly for companies no matter their industry.
Because minor illness is such a prevalent reason for time off, most HR departments already have ways to reduce its impact on the business. For example, Bradford Factor scoring to flag repeat instances of short-term sickness.
2. Stress
Stress was the next big reason for short-term leave. Employees in ‘white-collar’ industries were more than twice as likely to take time off due to stress.
How HR tackle stress-related illness will depend on whether the stress is connected to work. For this reason, you should hold a return to work interview for anyone who’s been off with stress. If the interview reveals the stress is work-related, you’ll need to work out what the business can do to alleviate pressure on the employee. For example, if their workload is too much, distribute work amongst their team or hire someone to provide additional support.
3. Musculoskeletal injuries/back pain
Musculoskeletal injuries and back pain follow stress as top reasons for short-term sickness. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this kind of illness is more typical in industries that involve manual work. If musculoskeletal injuries and back pain are a common reason for absence in your workforce, there are a couple of things to check.
Firstly, do employees have access to the right equipment? Staff who have back problems and sit at a desk should have tools that improve their posture. Ergonomic keyboards, footstools and specially adapted chairs can all improve these employees' health.
Also, reassure yourself that employees understand and follow health and safety policies. Workers who have to do a lot of lifting should regularly be reminded how to lift heavy items without damaging their back.
A good absence management plan will consider why people in an organisation are taking time off. Different types of sick leave will require different responses from HR. So if a certain kind of sickness is common in your workforce, tailor your absence management strategy to that sort of leave.
To gain an overview of the causes of sickness, make sure your line managers categorise sick leave when they log it in your system. By assigning a category to people’s time off, you’ll have the detail you need to segment sickness data by type.
For your HR team, this provides useful insights that, when acted upon, reduce the cost of absence. It enables you to spot issues particular to your staff and adapt your strategy to their needs. Thus creating a tailored approach that's right for your organisation.
