From this article you will learn:

• why taking care of health Are employees important to your organization?
• What are costs generated by high absenteeism?
• What solutions Do modern companies practice health promotion?
• How and why avoid presenteeism?

A useful definition: The Central Institute of Labor Protection indicates that absenteeism can be understood as lost working time, but in this article we focus exclusively on sick leave due to one's own illness, and not, for example, caring for a sick person [1].

Health — a key investment

Modern companies make every effort to provide employees with adequate conditions, but also tools that facilitate health care, such as packages and medical services. Why is it so important? In other words — what does a healthy employee give a company and how does the company lose to employee diseases?

• Profits

Time is money. There is no doubt about this, especially when we take into account the time of absence of employees. As it turns out, each percentage of sick leave corresponds to a loss of 0,7% of the company's profit [3].

• Costs

Loss of profits is one thing, costs are also important - and not only those official, directly related to a given employee, but also the costs of replacements (including recruitment and training of a new person), possible overtime or administrative services [1]. As a result taking care of workers' health brings economic benefits in the form of cost reductions ranging from a few to 70% [6].

• Image

Taking care of the well-being of employees is not only less absenteeism, but also better image among job candidates [3]. Specialists will be more willing to choose such a company, and current employees will feel safe and “taken care of”.

• Effectiveness

The already ordinary runny nose, which some of us do not even consider as a disease, reduces efficiency by 20% [4]. No wonder - health really affects the speed and quality of work. Let's also remember that mistakes made by distracted, sick employees can be not only costly, but also dangerous.

• Atmosphere

Health affects the quality of communication between employees [7]. Even a slight cold can mean that an employee will come to work irritable, and negative emotions will affect the entire team. Overtime and the need to frequently replace absent people also have a bad effect on the working atmosphere.

Can the company counteract absenteeism?

As much as possible. In 2012, Eurostat carried out a study that showed that approximately. 26% of total work absenteeism is due to work-related illnesses [6]. Of course, these results have been shaken by the pandemic, and then by the subsequent wave of mental health problems for employees. However, despite the decades that have passed, many companies have still not learned the lesson of creating a hygienic and healthy work environment, which in itself is the key to reducing sick leave. meantime Properly selected measures can reduce business expenses caused by absenteeism by a few up to 70% [3].

Health and safety is not everything. The work culture itself is also important. It turns out that up to 70% of dismissals with the indication “the sick can walk” or granted as part of the care of a family member, are used as a kind of escape from work. Such activities are expected to account for an average of as much as 10% of sick leave [3].

It can be clearly seen that different types of absenteeism are generated by completely different factors. The first step in countering it, therefore, should be to verify which area it belongs to. Most often, the following three are distinguished:

• natural — the employee is actually sick;
• gray — the employee is not sick, but prolongs the actual dismissal, avoids returning to work (“easy” access to dismissals, lack of motivation to work, etc.);
• professional — the so-called pathological, the employee uses the possibility of dismissal in order to receive benefits without appearing at work [7].

We are particularly interested in the first point — it is can be corrected by introducing changes in hygiene and work culture that will be largely universal.

In the case of gray and professional absenteeism, individual factors for a given company often come into play, among others the quality of management or poorly designed indicators and processes [3].

Note — minimizing absenteeism should be treated as a systemic action. It is necessary to start by identifying the real causes and type of absenteeism, and then develop an absenteeism policy, covering a whole complex of actions and solutions.

Minimal natural absenteeism — or how to take care of the employee's health?

According to the latest available ZUS report in 2021, the reasons for sick leave of Polish employees were as follows:

So we can already see at first glance that Appropriate, systemic measures can reduce the level of sick leave — a large part of illnesses are related to occupational health and safety issues. Thus, for example, diseases of the musculoskeletal or muscular system can be correlated with properly prepared workplaces, while care for the respiratory system of employees includes, among other things, adequate air conditioning and properly ventilated rooms.

Importantly, all of the above diseases are also greatly influenced by the right lifestyle. And here we come to the clue — prevention is better than cure. Just how do you provide the team with adequate prevention?

Solutions to support health prevention

• Taking the lessons of COVID — the pandemic has taught us that solutions such as Proper distance between employees, devices and hand sanitizers, instructions for proper behavior, adequate ventilation of premises It is worth taking care of them further. Less absenteeism, especially during periods of frequent illnesses, can also contribute to hybrid work.
• “Healthy” infrastructure — in addition to taking care of Ergonomic seating and adequate lighting It is also worth creating a space that is conducive to a healthy lifestyle. In the case of large companies, it can be separate gyms, changing rooms and showers for commuters by bike or relaxation rooms allowing you to calm down after stressful meetings.
• Organized classes — from corporate yoga, through webinars dedicated to health, to the possibility of using a massage or consulting with an expert, e.g. a physiotherapist The number of such solutions is practically unlimited today.
• Creating an Opportunity — in the rush of responsibilities it is easy to forget about regular examinations, so it is worth introducing in the company events, such as days associated with a disease or introducing elements of gamification, motivating movement.
• The right benefits — a card allowing access to the gym or medical care is now just the basis. It is worth giving employees, for example, the opportunity Teleconsultation with specialists Do you have access to important preventive examinations.

The best results are of course the synergy of solutions — for example, by creating Allergy Awareness Day, we can combine benefits (e.g. respiratory allergy package or alimentary available as part of MultiLife) with a corresponding webinar and gamification (e.g. a quiz for employees).

We already know what to do, and what actions can harm the company?

Largely those that result from... an exaggerated fight against sick leave. So-called presenteeism — that is, the tendency of employees to come to work despite illness, can cause the entire department to “land” on dismissal. In addition, according to the research of Dr. Małgorzata Pęciłło from the Central Institute of Labor Protection — National Research Institute, the costs of the presence of sick employees at work can significantly exceed the costs incurred by the employer for their absence [9]. So it is worth taking care of the appropriate company culture and type of contractswhich will prevent this type of activity.

By creating a healthy and friendly work environment and giving the employee tools and the possibility of prevention or treatment, we reduce these types of risks. As a result, we create an effective organization, generating profits and at the same time friendly to employees.

Sources:

1. https://wskaznikihr.pl/biblioteka/absencja_chorobowa_w_polsce_644d617f.
2. https://wskaznikihr.pl/biblioteka/jak_radzic_sobie_z_absencja_wsrod_pracownikow__ac45ae20.
3. https://www.pulshr.pl/rynek-zdrowia/jak-ograniczyc-absencje-chorobowa-pracownikow-oto-wskazowki,69152.html.
4. https://ipri.com.pl/blog/2020/10/19/prezenteizm-nieefektywna-obecnosc-w-pracy/.
5. https://zielonalinia.gov.pl/-/presenteeism-czyli-chory-w-pracy-28663.
6. https://www.ciop.pl/CIOPPortalWAR/appmanager/ciop/pl?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P30001831335539182278&html_tresc_root_id=300001810&html_tresc_id=300001824&html_klucz=19558&html_klucz_spis =.
7. https://www.magazynrekruter.pl/absencja-chorobowa-kiedy-staje-sie-problemem/.
8. https://www.zus.pl/documents/10182/39590/Absencja+chorobowa_raport_2021.pdf/8ca8025c-f6dc-b02c-a7e4-5aa99d28af9a?t=1652869131280.
9. https://www.ciop.pl/CIOPPortalWAR/appmanager/ciop/pl?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P30001831335539182278&html_tresc_root_id=300001810&html_tresc_id=300003928&html_klucz=19558&html_klucz_spis =.