12:13pm Thursday 11th March 2010
By Wellbeing At Work
Two seemingly disparate conversations this week suddenly gelled in my head as I was doing the vacuuming. (A good time for thinking – take it from me.) So, in traditional O level parlance (yes, I can still remember those) compare and contrast the following: Discussing absence management with colleagues this week set me thinking that it’s funny how we view time off work when we’re sick. I’m not talking about the odd duvet day, or two or three days off with flu; I’m talking about long term absence – off with a broken leg, chronic fatigue, dare I mention it – stress. Setting aside, for one moment, the effects of our particular malady, our initial reaction is often how great it is to have a break and get away from the pressures of work. We think we will use the time to recuperate, perhaps catch up on some reading or view those DVDs we’ve been promising we would for ages. Maybe you can actually look forward to having nothing to do. But when it comes down to it, the people I’ve been talking to couldn’t wait to get back to work after a fairly short time. Fed up with a surfeit of daytime TV and no structure, they were glad to get back to having something to do, to feeling as though they had a purpose again.
This ongoing debate was further fuelled by a European Court ruling on accrued holiday pay during sick absence. Here’s the link http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/article.aspx?liarticleid=49084&printerfriendly=true but in a nutshell, the Court ruled that employees on long term sick are entitled to accrue holidays during their absence and can take them (or payment in lieu) when they return. This highlights the absolute necessity for employers to manage sickness absence and try to broker a speedy and effective return to work, lest they be left with a thumping holiday ‘debt’ when employees return.
Here’s the compare and contrast bit: On the one hand we have employees itching to get back to work after quite a short time and on the other we have employers who have a major incentive to get people back to work quickly. So why does it go so wrong so often? I realise that there are many other factors involved in this tricky question, especially when we’re talking about mental ill health but, if there are positive signs that employees and employers want the same things then there has to be room for optimism.
We’ll be talking in more detail about absence management and mental health in the workplace at our employer training event on the 28th May at the Swindon Marriott Hotel. Contact the Richmond Fellowship office on 01793 433571 for further details.
Also look out for the Work Life team at the Brunel Shopping Centre on Wednesday 21st April and Swindon Designer Outlet on Tuesday 11th May. We’ll be providing information on Mindful Employer and the Work Life service at our balloon-festooned stand. So come along and chat to us.
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