Sickness absence has long been a problem for British industry. Backpain which has been a prevalent cause of absence is now giving way to stress related illnesses. Musculoskeletal and stress related illness can account for over 50% of sickness absence in many organizations. A related problem is the increasing number of liability claims for illness or injury at work, and increasing insurance premiums.

We have an Occupational Health department, but we're still having problems

Occupational Health is fundamentally about protecting the health of the workforce, ensuring that workers are fit for the work they do, and that the work environment enables them to work safely and productively. As Occupational Health is readily available to all organizations, why then does industry continue to suffer under the burden of excessive sickness absence? Why do some organizations with Occupational Health in place still suffer high levels of sickness absence and claims? In many organizations HR Managers often feel frustrated feel when employees who are off sick keep sending in incapacity certificates from their doctor with no apparent end in sight, and little or no substantial help being provided by Occupational Health. Given that the practitioners within Occupational Health teams are doing their job, where does the process break down?

A more objective and proactive approach to OH

The answer can be a complex one, depending upon the organization, the culture, the policies and procedures, and of course, the Occupational Health provision and how it is managed. However, it could be said that Occupational Health, in partnership with client organizations, needs to focus attention on solving the day to day problems, rather than providing Occupational Health in the traditional manner. This should not change the underlying objective of Occupational Health, but enable a more effective process to benefit both the organization and it’s employees. This requires a much more objective and proactive approach to Occupational Health. Producing solutions to the problem of sickness absence, time off due to injury and a high claim rate will not come without cost, however, a successful partnership between Occupational Health and the organization will transform Occupational Health from a negative to a positive on the balance sheet.

How then, can this be achieved?

A proactive Occupational Health service needs to be flexible in it’s approach and tackle the problems identified by factual data such as sickness absence and cause, time off due to injury, and injury claims at a strategic level by working in close partnership with all levels of the organization – Health & Safety, Human Resources, managers and employees. This may involve active health promotion, education, communication, lifestyle assessment, implementation of new procedures etc.
Occupational Health also needs to proactively tackle sickness absence at the tactical level, by implementing robust procedures to objectively determine fitness for work. Occupational Health advisors and physicians need to work closely with primary care, make more use of specialist resources to assess and diagnose illness and injury with recommendations for treatment, and manage treatment as part of a rehabilitation programme to help employees return to work. Objective assessment and treatment of problems such as musculoskeletal related injuries (backpain, shoulder pain etc.) and stress related illness supported by multi-disciplinary teams of physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, counsellors, psychologists etc. can significantly reduce sickness absence levels and duration.

A proactive approach by Occupational Health needs to be met by Industry with the development and implementation of good policies and procedures from senior management to the shopfloor covering sickness absence, permanent ill-health, stress, drugs & alcohol, health surveillance etc. Occupational Health can input to the development of many of these policies. As with most things, it’s not just what you do, but how you do it, that will achieve success.

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