How to Reduce Absenteeism and Support Employees Back to Work

By Dr Julia Lyons, Senior Clinical Lead at Onebright 

Absenteeism affects all workplaces and costs them a significant amount in lost time and productivity. It is estimated 4.8 days a year are lost per employee in the UK, the highest rate of absenteeism in a decade. And it is important to note that this is not referring to authorised days off for holiday or sickness but rather the unexpected and unscheduled days or hours lost to other causes. 

A large proportion of these days can be attributed to long-term health conditions, which according to ONS figures, accounted for nearly 105 million lost days to sickness absence. The causes include chronic physical illness and poor mental health. In fact, research conducted by the Health and Safety Executive reveals that a substantial 50% of work-related absenteeism can be attributed to mental health challenges. 

Tackling absenteeism 

Prevention is undoubtedly better than cure in the case of tackling absenteeism in the workplace. At a basic level, this involves implementing mental health initiatives that introduce support and processes to prevent minor events such as a stressful period or a tough deadline snowballing with other concerns into overwhelmed employees and subsequent absences. These initiatives can include Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and mental health training. It also means considering implementing flexible work arrangements and, importantly, making sure you have open communication channels with your employees. 

Setting up these programmes will help create an environment where employees feel supported, heard and looked after. This will benefit your business in a few ways, with the obvious one being that employees will be better equipped to deal with the rigours of the workplace without having to resort to taking time off due to burnout, or more serious mental health issues. 

Creating a supportive and genuinely caring working environment will also help your business retain and attract talent. A new generation is joining the workplace that expects this kind of support from their employer, and many jobseekers are wanting to join an employer who has workplace mental health support at the heart of their people practices and company culture. 

Getting people back to work

But what happens when prevention hasn’t worked? Or it is too late? Early intervention is preferable but no one individual’s circumstances is the same, and neither is there a one size fits all policy which suits all employees. Providing this support starts with listening to the employee and what they need to get them back to work. This helps employees who are out of work, whether on a short-term or long-term basis, to understand there is a support network in place at their workplace to help them. 

Further to that, offering practical help is key to taking that support network from an abstract concept to fulfilling help. This could include offering CBT, online therapy and counselling, among other options. 

Ultimately, addressing absenteeism through corporate mental health initiatives is an ethical responsibility when it comes to mental health in the workplace. But also positively affects the profitability of the organisation as a whole. A report by Deloitte found that for every £1 spent to support employee mental health and wellbeing, employers will get, on average, £4.70 back in increased productivity. The return on investment alone means this is an essential consideration for all businesses.