The European Week for Safety and Health at
Work begins on Monday the 20th October 2014. The theme of this year’s
event is “Healthy workplaces manage stress”.
This initiative comes at a particularly time
for the Irish workforce. Internal government documents have recently revealed
that the cost of sick leave in the public sector alone is “unsustainable” and
is costing the State about €430 million per annum. Private businesses in
Ireland are also severely impacted; a study by employers group IBEC in 2010
revealed that a total of 11 million days are lost to absence each year, costing
these businesses as much as €1.5 billion per annum, equating to €818 per
employee.
Of particular relevance to the campaign, stress is a key contributor to workplace absenteeism and loss of productivity.
Stress is the second most
frequently reported work related health problem in Europe and, along with other
psychosocial risks, is thought to account for more than half (50–60 %) of all
lost working days. And Ireland is not immune; a workplace
survey published by Aviva Health Insurance in 2013, for example, revealed that
almost three quarters of employees say a pressurised work environment has
become the norm, with 55% reporting stress and/or anxiety.
So what
can be done to address these issues?
Paul McCarthy, CEO of Full Health Medical, an award-winning preventative
health management company, believes that the answer lies in employee education
and programmes which support employee wellness. “While occupational health has traditionally been focused on
minimising the risk of physical hazards to health and safety in a workplace,
employers are increasingly recognising the value of having a healthy, motivated
and mentally resilient workforce. Research by the Department of
Health in the UK has shown that for every £1 spent on wellness programmes,
there is an average return on investment of £3.73, including a 34% saving in
absenteeism costs”, said Mr. McCarthy, who went on to note that other advantages
of these programmes include improved on-the-job decision making and time
management, improved workforce morale, and reduction in employee turnover.
Mr. McCarthy believes that the first steps
in reducing absenteesism need to be centred around employee
education; “if employees don’t understand their current health status, then how
are they expected to be proactive in improving it? These days people are
constantly being given mixed messages about diet, exercise and other aspects of
their health, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to decipher
what is best for them individually”.
So should all employees get health screening?
Mr. McCarthy admits that there are certainly issues around mass screening, as
evidenced by the controversy currently surrounding the NHS Health Check
Programme, which targets
adults in England between the ages of 40 and 74 with a free health screening
every five years. “The reality is that mass, unfiltered screening would simply
result in unnecessary workload for an already stretched health service, and in
particular would result in an impossible extra burden being placed on GPs.
However, there is an argument for targeted screening and, more importantly,
education for employees who are missing work on a regular basis. Using targeted
screening and education as the first step in a programme of health improvement
would benefit both the employee and the business.”
One
area in particular where Mr. McCarthy believes significant improvements could
be made is within the health service itself. “Sick leave cost the Health
Service Executive €223 million in 2012 alone. It is clear that
traditional efforts to reduce absenteeism have failed to make any impact on the
problem, and perhaps it is time for the HSE, as part of its renewed focus on
health and wellbeing, to consider targeted health screening and corporate
wellness programmes for its own employees. By taking a proactive approach to
addressing these problems within its own workforce, the HSE would point the way
for other employers in Ireland”.
The European Week for Safety and Health at
Work begins on Monday the 20th October. Further information can be
found at https://osha.europa.eu/en/campaigns/index_html.
