The survey asked more than 1,000 employers about their most effective approaches for managing absence, and found significant increases since 2015 in the number of employers valuing the involvement of line managers. Nearly three in ten employers (28%) now say that line managers taking primary responsibility for absence management is in their top three most effective approaches for managing short-term absence, compared to 17% in 2015. Similarly, one in five (20%) say that it is an effective approach for managing long-term absence (2015: 11%). A quarter of employers (25%) identified that line managers being given sickness absence information (absence figures, causes and trends) is one of the most effective approaches to manage short-term absence (compared to 18% in 2015). 15% said this was true for managing long-term absence (compared to 7% in 2015).
However, while employers increasingly recognise the vital role that line managers play in supporting employees, the survey found that most employers are not giving them the tools they need to manage absence effectively. Less than half (44%) train managers to handle short-term absence, a drop from 52% in 2015. And just 38% said managers are trained to manage long-term absence (45% in 2015). The survey also found decreases in the provision of tailored support for line managers. Just a fifth (20%) of employers provide tailored support to manage short-term absence, a drop from a quarter (26%) in 2015. Only a quarter (25%) offer tailored support for long-term absence (a drop from 34% in 2015).
Dr Jill Miller, Research Adviser at the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, comments:
The survey found that more than a third (35%) of respondents said their organisation has a well-being strategy or programme in place, either standalone or as part of their wider people strategy. This is compared to 57% who don’t have a formal strategy, but have either individual well-being initiatives in place or act on an ad-hoc basis.
Nearly half (46%) of the employers surveyed reported that their organisation has increased its focus on well-being over the last 12 months. When asked the reasons for this, 63% of respondents said they want their organisation to be a great place to work, 47% said their organisation believes employee well-being is linked to business performance, and 43% said their organisation believes it’s the right thing to do. Additionally, nearly two-fifths (37%) of organisations that invest in well-being say they have increased their well-being spend over the last twelve months and almost two-thirds (64%) have improved communications to staff about the well-being benefits on offer and how to access them (2015: 48%).
Miller continues:
Corinne Williams, Head of HR at Simplyhealth, commented:
Further highlights of the survey include:
The average level of employee absence is 6.3 days per employee per year (2015: 6.9; 2014: 6.6; 2013: 7.6). Absence levels tend to be higher in larger organisations, regardless of sector.
Nearly three quarters (72%) of employers report they have observed ‘presenteeism’ – people coming into work unwell – within their organisation, and 3 in 10 (29%) say they’ve seen an increase in the last 12 months. Nearly half (48%) of organisations have taken steps to discourage presenteeism, a considerable increase on previous years (2015: 31%; 2014: 32%; 2013: 34%).
The most common top five causes of short-term absence are: Minor illness (95%), Stress (47%), musculoskeletal injuries (44%), Home/family/carer responsibilities (35%), and mental ill health (34%).
The most common top five causes of long-term absence are: Stress (53%), acute medical conditions (53%), mental ill health (49%), musculoskeletal injuries (44%) and back pain (35%).
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