Sick Days at 10-Year High Amid Surge in Stress and Mental Health Issues

An ambulance drives from St. Thomas's Hospital in London on Jan. 7, 2022. Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Sickness absences among UK employees are at the highest levels in over a decade according to a new report.

Britons were absent from work an average of 7.8 days over the past year. This is two days more than the pre-pandemic rate of 5.8 days.

A report by the Chartered Institute for Professional Development (CIPD) and Simplyhealth, a provider of health cash plans, analysed 918 organisations, representing 6.5 million employees.

Minor illnesses, musculoskeletal injuries and mental health issues were among top reasons that temporarily prevented people from going back to work.

The findings also showed stress to be a crucial factor in sickness absence. Britons would also stop working for short periods due to COVID-19. This was reported by 37 percent of organisations.

When employees were on a long-term sick leave, it was caused by mental health problems, as well as such conditions as stroke or cancer and musculoskeletal disorders.

The government’s efforts to get people back in employment has dealt a blow with a record number of 2.6 million Britons out of work because of long-term sickness, reported in August.

This came as the NHS was struggling with record backlogs amid months of back-to-back strikes. The Department for Work and Pensions set out £58 million in June to help people with mild to moderate mental or physical health conditions stay in work.

In a similar effort, organisations have been trying to address health and wellbeing issues overall. The CIPD and Simplyhealth’s survey reported 69 percent of organisations offer occupational sick pay leave schemes for all employees.

The survey also revealed that employers are looking to invest in female health, including almost one-fifth of companies planning to introduce policies on menstrual health this year.

In addition, 82 percent provide an employee assistance programme, which generally involves short-term counselling and referral services for employees and their immediate family.

“With record numbers of people off sick, employers have a vital role to play in supporting them through workplace health and wellbeing services. They can have a positive impact on the economy and ease pressure on the NHS,” said chief consumer officer at Simplyhealth, Claudia Nicholls.

More companies last year had a stand-alone wellbeing strategy than in 2021, the survey said.

However, Ms. Nicholls suggested that companies need to do more to uncover areas where any significant improvements can be made, instead of focusing on fixing sickness alone.

Wellbeing adviser at the CIPD, Rachel Suff, said that employers need to prevent stress and manage early intervention to prevent health issues from escalating where possible.

The Pandemic Effect

The pandemic has fundamentally shifted the way in which people work. Many have turned to remote and hybrid working, as well as working less to achieve a better work-life balance.

This has been in part caused by the effect on people’s mental health and well-being during and after the pandemic.

UK workers have undergone several waves of mental health deteriorations between March 2020 and end of 2021.

The Office of Health Improvement and Disparities has reported that some groups of people were affected more. These include women, young adults and adults who ended up losing their jobs because of the pandemic.

The government has since announced millions in investments in mental health services. The Department of Health will be spending at least £2.3 billion a year by March 2024 to expand mental NHS health services.

In August, the secretary of state for work and pensions, Mel Stride, said that the government was “consulting with employers on ways to keep workers healthy and reduce the numbers out of work due to long-term sickness.”

A consultation on occupational health, led by the Treasury, is looking into expanding the benefit in kind (BiK) exemption. In this, the government seeks to introduce tax incentives and subsidies to organisations, providing occupational health services to employees.

Responses to the consultation will be received until Oct. 12, which will give Downing Street time to incorporate the findings in any related announcements during the autumn statement in November.