“Checking in, not checking up”: long-term sickness at work

Long-term sickness absence from work is an escalating crisis that threatens the UK economy.

CMI’s director of policy and external affairs, Petra Wilton, discussed the problem in a recent issue of HR magazine – and highlighted the urgent action that organisations need to take to minimise the impact. 

“Employers must urgently rethink support for staff with long-term health conditions, or risk slower growth, reduced productivity and greater strain on our NHS,” she wrote, quoting CMI research. “Nearly half of managers report barriers such as unsupportive cultures, weak leadership and limited HR support that prevent them from effectively helping employees return to work after illness.”

With the Health Foundation predicting that one in five adults in England will be living with major illness by 2040, organisations clearly need to be tackling the issue as a top priority. 

Putting people first

Glenn Atkins CMgr FCMI is registration delivery manager with the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), a professional membership body that accredits engineers and technicians globally. His 20-strong team already coordinates around 3,500 peer reviews each year and that workload is growing. But so too are the team’s satisfaction levels, thanks to a person-centred approach to staff wellbeing. 

• How I introduced daily morale as a powerful KPI

“It’s about being human and recognising that a person’s health matters more than any to-do list,” says Glenn. “We encourage colleagues to share concerns at an early stage and tailor adjustments to support people to stay in work and to return to work when they are ready. And if someone’s off sick we do all that we can to help them, checking in not checking up. It’s all about honesty and trust and it absolutely helps staff retention.”

Glenn adds that a close working relationship with the IET’s People Support Team has been critical. “It’s important to make friends with your HR department,” he says. “They are an integral part of the team here and support the flexible approach we are empowered to take. Staff absence can be tricky for operational reasons, but we all step up to cover it.”

It’s about creating a psychologically safe environment for staff to say they’re struggling and to access help

Yet sickness absence will affect different organisations in different ways, and demand a variety of responses. At the NHS itself, for example, absence can be a critical issue. 

“It’s really hard for us when staff go off sick as we still have a service to run and it creates service gaps,” says Aliyah Akhtar CMgr MCMI, mental health services manager with the Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust. “The NHS runs on goodwill and we need to support people at work, implementing all available measures to retain them.”