Stress and stress-inducing situations are the main causes of short-term absences, according to research from Group Risk Development (GRiD), the industry body for the group protection sector. Home and family issues account for 20% of short-term absences; dealing with childcare issues 17%; and dealing with eldercare issues 10%.
Whereas acute medical conditions and musculoskeletal conditions both account for 15% of short-term absence, stress and stress-inducing situations compound as the main reason why employees are unable to go to work, the survey found.
Moreover, companies that believe their absence is higher than the average for their industry also cited stress as a major reason.
The survey of 500 HR managers found 27% believe work-related stress contributes to a higher-than-average absence.
Stress-inducing situations are also seen as a contributory factor. Dealing with staff shortages (29%), poor work/life balance (20%) and low morale (19%) were all given as reasons for higher absence.
The research suggests employers also recognise the extent to which health and wellbeing initiatives and group protection can support better attendance.
For example, 22% said that not having health and wellbeing initiatives in place was the reason for having worse absence than others in their industry, and 14% said not having income protection in place was a reason for worse absence.
Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD, said the figures show that stress is not something that individuals deal with in isolation. Instead, it is a key reason for absence and has a major impact on employers.
“When stress is an issue for employees, it’s an issue for employers too. Poor absence means poor productivity. The support is there and we want people to know about it and use it,” she added.
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