Source: Personnel Today ~ article
Date: Thursday, July 13, 2006

Doctors blame employers for the high number of workers who are taking time off sick, new research claims.

One third of GPs surveyed by Norwich Union Healthcare had noticed a rise in the number of workers being signed off sick from work. Almost all blamed the increase on companies for neglecting their workers’ health and wellbeing, according to a survey by Norwich Union Healthcare. Many HR professionals agreed: 46 per cent said their organisation did not invest enough resources in pre-empting sickness and only 38 per cent said it identified employee wellbeing as an HR priority. They saw the major health problems affecting staff as stress (76 per cent), back trouble (63 per cent) and depression (57 per cent).

“Greater co-operation is needed between GPs and employers to find a solution to rising illness caused at work,” said Tim Baker, director at Norwich Union Healthcare. “Businesses must look to organisations, such as Royal Mail and Rolls Royce, which have promoted a healthy workplace and proactively managed adverse health effects, achieving a reduction in absence and ill health.”

The Health in the Workplace survey questioned 250 GPs and 200 HR professionals in the UK.