Employers dealing with productivity crisis

As sickness rates rise in the UK, a new survey shows that employers are struggling with workers’ productivity levels.

When asked what measures they were taking to enhance and promote employee health and wellbeing while minimising sickness absence, half of employers said they are using flexible working policies as a solution.

The idea behind this is that by offering employees more freedom in their work schedule, this might help to mitigate the impact of illness on the workforce.

Other answers given from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) survey are as follows:

• Flexible work policies (cited by 51%)
• Workplace safety measures such as health and safety training and/or guidance (40%)
• Educating employees about health and wellbeing (37%)
• Employee Assistance Programmes/counselling or mental health support (30%)
• Measures to monitor and manage addressing workload (29%)
• Promoting workplace physical hygiene (27%)

When asked about the impacts of sickness absence, employers answered:

• Reduced productivity (48.5%)
• Decline in service quality (36.5%)
• Decrease in morale among co-workers (31%)
• Increased direct and indirect financial implications (26%)

Commenting on the findings, REC Deputy Chief Executive Kate Shoesmith said, “Tackling rising ill-health is a massive social and economic challenge for the government and business.

“Nearly half of employers we surveyed report reduced productivity due to sickness absence, and as seen in other REC research – a healthy, motivated workforce is essential for everyone’s success. The challenges of sickness absence go beyond just physical health, influencing morale and service quality.

“Finding solutions to address sickness absence is paramount; therefore, with many employers already getting on the front foot. Just over half are offering flexible working policies – something regularly requested by candidates during a recruitment process and is another reason why measures in the Employment Rights Bill must carefully balance both the individual’s and the employer’s needs.

“With only 13% of surveyed employers not offering any support measures, it is evident that businesses recognise the importance of this issue. As always, government working with employers on innovative and comprehensive health and wellbeing programmes will be the way to tackle and reduce sickness absence levels in the long run.”

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