More than half of UK employees need a stress counselling service from their employer to help them deal with the pressures of the workplace, new research reveals.
According to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy's (BACP) 2010 Attitudes to Counselling and Psychotherapy survey, 54% want their employer to provide a confidential counselling service to enable to them to deal with the effects of the recession.
And more than three quarters (78%) now believe that workplace stress is an acceptable reason to seek counselling and psychotherapy, compared with just 44% in 2004.
The survey of 1,440 people across the UK also revealed 29% want their employer to provide them with more emotional support to enable them to deal with stress in the workplace, whether that is caused by work, personal problems imported into work or a combination of both.
The desire for more support in the workplace seems to stem largely from the belief among 84% of respondents that the recession has made it more likely that people need counselling and psychotherapy. Particular issues they believed it could help with included the emotional difficulties caused by financial loss, workplace stress and relationship breakdowns.
Rick Hughes, BACP workplace lead adviser, said: "Ten years ago there was sometimes a stigma regarding accessing counselling for personal or work-related issues. Today not only do we see an increasing acceptability but also a clear demand from employees for their employers to provide some form of access to counselling services. Organisations that provide counselling services for staff overwhelmingly find this translates to a multitude of positive benefits, including reduced absence, lower presenteeism, enhanced employee satisfaction, reduced accidents and improved productivity. Aside from the organisational cost benefits, the moral and social responsibility helps to foster a greater buy-in and commitment from employees. The economic downturn is likely to increase presenteeism, already costing organisations twice as much as absence. The inclination to work more for less will invariably impact negatively on the emotional and psychological health of employees. Providing counselling services for staff will go some way to mitigate these adverse effects."
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Saturday, 4 September 2010
Monday, 10 May 2010
How much does sickness absence cost your company?
How much does sickness absence cost your company?
Studies have found that sickness absence could cost UK businesses as much as 16% of their payroll. In response to this cost, it makes sense to look at ways in which an employer can offer a support package to their workforce.
Unbelievably, the majority of companies do not measure or analyze their staff absences and the related costs to their business.
What every employer should know....
The cost of sickness absence amounts to more than just salary costs. Motivation, recruitment and the well-being of the whole work-force may be additional factors.
A small handful of long-term absences can seriously increase the overall annual cost of absence.
Modern trends mean that absences and legal costs relating to stress and other mental illnesses are a significant business risk.
Employers adopting a comprehensive support scheme that provides structured rehabilitation services could shorten many long-term absences.
A recent survey from a global human resources services company, shows that sickness costs UK companies more than £1,000 per employee every year.
In addition, absenteeism is costing employers at least £662 per employee, (although this rises by as much as 60% once indirect costs, such as lost productivity, overtime and recruitment, are included.)
The Survey found that many companies are under-estimating their rate of absenteeism and its financial impact.
The survey also showed that the biggest causes of absenteeism are flu, muscular injuries (such as back pain and repetitive strain injury), and stress and depression.
Some 56% of respondents said that stress is an issue for their organisation.
James Kenrick, head of UK Corporate Healthcare Consulting at Hewitt Associates, said:
“Poor employee health is an enormous problem for UK businesses, costing billions of pounds each year – yet companies are still not taking sufficient steps to handle the issue. In particular, this report shows that many employers do not properly monitor absenteeism, which means its real impact may be even greater.
This report makes it clear that stress is predicted to be the main cause of employee ill-health in the next three years. If the UK economy worsens, stress levels can undoubtedly be expected to rise further, making this the biggest threat to employee health in the UK.”
Poor health and work absenteeism has long been recognised as a problem for UK employers.
According to a recent review by Dame Carol Black, the National Director for Health and Work at the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, the total cost of sickness and absenteeism to the UK economy is over £60 billion.
Some companies are taking measures to deal with their concerns about the cost of poor health among their employees. As a result they are putting in place initiatives such as retaining consultancy packages from therapists, offering subsidised gym membership and promoting healthy eating programmes in order to improve standards of well-being.
Employers typically see a return of £3 for every £1 invested in employee health initiatives.
James Kenrick added:
"Reducing absenteeism is the ultimate goal for employers. To achieve this, they need to approach the problem from a total health management perspective. This means collecting quality data on the reasons behind absenteeism and developing a coordinated programme to encourage good health in their workforce."
Studies have found that sickness absence could cost UK businesses as much as 16% of their payroll. In response to this cost, it makes sense to look at ways in which an employer can offer a support package to their workforce.
Unbelievably, the majority of companies do not measure or analyze their staff absences and the related costs to their business.
What every employer should know....
The cost of sickness absence amounts to more than just salary costs. Motivation, recruitment and the well-being of the whole work-force may be additional factors.
A small handful of long-term absences can seriously increase the overall annual cost of absence.
Modern trends mean that absences and legal costs relating to stress and other mental illnesses are a significant business risk.
Employers adopting a comprehensive support scheme that provides structured rehabilitation services could shorten many long-term absences.
A recent survey from a global human resources services company, shows that sickness costs UK companies more than £1,000 per employee every year.
In addition, absenteeism is costing employers at least £662 per employee, (although this rises by as much as 60% once indirect costs, such as lost productivity, overtime and recruitment, are included.)
The Survey found that many companies are under-estimating their rate of absenteeism and its financial impact.
The survey also showed that the biggest causes of absenteeism are flu, muscular injuries (such as back pain and repetitive strain injury), and stress and depression.
Some 56% of respondents said that stress is an issue for their organisation.
James Kenrick, head of UK Corporate Healthcare Consulting at Hewitt Associates, said:
“Poor employee health is an enormous problem for UK businesses, costing billions of pounds each year – yet companies are still not taking sufficient steps to handle the issue. In particular, this report shows that many employers do not properly monitor absenteeism, which means its real impact may be even greater.
This report makes it clear that stress is predicted to be the main cause of employee ill-health in the next three years. If the UK economy worsens, stress levels can undoubtedly be expected to rise further, making this the biggest threat to employee health in the UK.”
Poor health and work absenteeism has long been recognised as a problem for UK employers.
According to a recent review by Dame Carol Black, the National Director for Health and Work at the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, the total cost of sickness and absenteeism to the UK economy is over £60 billion.
Some companies are taking measures to deal with their concerns about the cost of poor health among their employees. As a result they are putting in place initiatives such as retaining consultancy packages from therapists, offering subsidised gym membership and promoting healthy eating programmes in order to improve standards of well-being.
Employers typically see a return of £3 for every £1 invested in employee health initiatives.
James Kenrick added:
"Reducing absenteeism is the ultimate goal for employers. To achieve this, they need to approach the problem from a total health management perspective. This means collecting quality data on the reasons behind absenteeism and developing a coordinated programme to encourage good health in their workforce."
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