Stress seems to be the one word that reduces otherwise competent managers to gibbering wrecks. It's every manager's nightmare.

There is a direct link between stress and long-term sickness absence. Frequently managers do nothing for months. Action then becomes more difficult. Not only does the firm have an employee who has been away from work for months, but those covering the work become more and more frustrated at the extra effort needed. Ultimately the manager may have to recruit a temporary worker to cover. All in all, it’s a very problematic area of management that is complex and difficult to resolve. There is however a simple model that can be applied. This blog defines stress and then introduces the model.

Calculating the Cost of Sickness Absence

There is a direct link between stress and long-term sickness absence. Frequently managers do nothing for months. Action then becomes more difficult. Not only does the firm have an employee who has been away from work for months, but those covering the work become more and more frustrated at the extra effort needed. Ultimately the manager may have to recruit a temporary worker to cover. All in all, it’s a very problematic area of management that is complex and difficult to resolve. There is however a simple model that can be applied. This blog defines stress and then introduces the model.

The most difficult thing about stress, and long-term absence from work that might be caused by stress, is identifying when to act. Let’s look at it from the viewpoint of cost.

How do you work out the cost to the firm of having someone off sick? Assume they earn £30,000 per annum. The average level of sickness per employee per year is 7.4 days (according to CIPD figures). Let’s now calculate the impact on the firm on salary alone.

Day rate (about) = £140
7.7 days sickness = £1,078

If of course we consider all employment costs, the real costs are around 50% more giving £210 a day.

So, if the employee is ‘normal’ we lose about £1,617 per annum. Perhaps that’s tolerable.

Consider now if the employee is off for longer. Stress is something for which general medical practitioners (GPs) routinely prescribe rest and hence work absence. If an employee goes back to their GP saying they still can’t cope with life or work or both, they routinely get signed off for a month at a time. This reflects in turn the average stress related absence statistic of 30.1 days at a cost of £6,321.

Now assume a three-month sickness absence (perhaps because you failed to act to manage the absence). This equals a loss of approximately sixty working days at a cost of £12,600.

Now assume a three-month sickness absence (perhaps because you failed to act to manage the absence). This equals a loss of approximately sixty working days at a cost of £12,600.
The cost of taking no action soon mounts up. And that's before you add in lost opportunity and costs of arranging temporary cover. So, now the issue. If you found a wastage in your firm of this magnitude, you would take action to deal with it!! Absence through stress can be considered in the same way. Early action is essential.

Defining Stress

According the the Heath & Safety Executive (HSE) stress is “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other type of demand placed on them”. Stress can lead to depression and anxiety. It has also been linked to heart disease, headaches, back ache and drug and alcohol abuse.

The HSE goes on to say that “there is a clear distinction between pressure, which can create a ‘buzz’ and be a motivating factor, and stress, which can occur when this pressure becomes excessive”.

Stress can of course be ‘work related’ or be because of the pressures of life. Stressors apply in both work and private life, and there is spillover between the two. Work related stress needs careful management.

The HSE has developed “The Management Standards” which have been designed to identify sources of stress and support a managed reduction in work-based stress. The six standards are shown in the diagram adjacent. Further information on the standards is available from the HSE.

The standards relate to job design and to manager action. Sound job design must be effective in firms to minimise the risk of work-based stress. The HSE recommends that a risk assessment should be carried out for all aspects of the role. It also recommends that a Stress Policy be implemented.

Managing Stress Related Sickness Absence

Today, stress seems to be spiralling out of control. Mixed in with other mental health ailments like anxiety, GPs report being overwhelmed with the numbers presenting at clinics. Recent UK government comments also suggest over-diagnosis as a reason for the increase.

My experience certainly suggests an element of overdiagnosis. It is too easy for GPs to prescribe rest as a cure. It never is. The main causes of stress at work are high (and unmanaged) workload, poor external relationships, constant restructure and ineffective management.

So back to stress management.

It is important to have a process that triggers action when an employee is absent for a short period of time. The process must then deal with both short-term and long-term absence and hence it must have two threads running side-by-side to manage all absenting employees. Simply, managers must track the absence and its costs.

ACAS recommends that policies and procedures are developed to ensure that all sickness absence is managed. Management centres on communication with the employee and agreement to conditions for return to work. Action centres on the six management standards.

By focussing on the management standards, of course, the inference is that absence due to stress is the manager’s fault. That would be an extreme view, but not unhelpful. If the manager is doing everything they can under the standards, they have done everything on their side to manage employee stress. If stress absence still occurs, the problem is likley not work-related stress and more analysis is needed.

Dealing with work-related stress early on has many benefits. Acting early causes all employees to feel that the manager cares about their welfare and as a result their performance will improve. Managing stress early means less sickness absence. Manager and employee effort can then be channelled into positive actions designed to drive the business forward.

Recommended Approach

I recommend that you:

• Complete a stress audit - find out your susceptibility to stress-related absence;
• Audit your effectiveness under the six management standards, making chance where needed;
• Have a clear policy for dealing with work-related stress;
• Include an employee assistance scheme whereby staff can get confidential help;
• Communicate your policy to all;
• Then act on it and manage all instances; and
• Monitor all absences and where stress-related, implement further initiatives that will lower pressure.

If you have staff who have been off sick for more than a couple of weeks you should be pro-actively dealing with the absence. If you aren’t doing this then you leave yourself open to subsequent problems. Act now - it will be beneficial for you and for your employee.

Give us a call if you have a current issue you want to discuss. Remember also that stress can be reduced by job design and by achieving employee engagement. Call us to discuss how you can make your firm less susceptible to stress disorders and hence how to resolve stress-related issues before they become an absence issue.