The disappearing sick day

A major new report looking at the impact of the economic downturn on corporate healthcare provision has shockingly revealed that organisations throughout the UK are putting employees under pressure to work while off sick and to return to work before they are well enough.

The findings in HSA's Healthy Working Report reveal that more than a third of HR professionals (35%) claim their company encourages employees to continue picking up emails and to perform basic tasks while absent from work through illness. A further 15% admit that while they didn't officially encourage staff to do this, it probably took place.

When asked if their organisation encourages employees to take as much time off as they needed when unwell, 1 in 7 (14%) HR professionals claim employees are encouraged to return to work as soon as possible. Three quarters (76%) also acknowledge that employees are less likely to take time off sick now than they would have been a year ago as a result of concerns about job security.

Taking it to the extreme

In addition, three quarters (75%) of HR professionals say they are aware of extreme working within their organisation, where employees continue to work through incapacity and illness rather than take a day off sick. The findings imply that organisations are under pressure to improve employee productivity regardless of the impact on the health of the workforce.

Richard Halley, Head of Sales at HSA, commented: "Companies are under pressure to get the best out of employees, especially during these tough economic times. However, this should not be done at the expense of employee health and welfare. Companies will only battle through an economic downturn with the support of their employees, and their wellbeing should therefore be of paramount importance. Healthplans such as those offered by HSA are designed to cover check-ups, treatment and emergencies, and contain benefits that employees will use regularly, so can help keep them healthy and at work."

Corporate healthcare - a major retention tool

When asked how important their company's healthcare provision was when employees were thinking about moving jobs almost 9 out of 10 (87%) HR professionals say it is an important part of the influencing criteria. Despite this, 1 in 6 (17%) claim their scheme is uncompetitive, suggesting it wouldn't be adequate enough to influence an employee thinking of leaving to stay.

Further analysis of the report findings revealed that:

Organisations that expect workers to continue performing basic tasks while off sick experience the highest employee turnover rates and are three times more likely to have above average turnover rates than other businesses

70% of organisations with very competitive healthcare benefits provision enjoyed growth in the last 12 months, compared to only 40% of those with uncompetitive benefits

Professor Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology at Lancaster University Management School commented: "It is worrying to learn from HSA's research that a substantial number of organisations throughout the UK are putting employees under pressure to come into work while they are still unwell. This creates a culture of insecurity and "presenteeism" - a phenomenon which generally occurs in a downturn - where employees feel they have to be present at work, while not fully functioning because they are sick. This is counterproductive because a sick employee isn't a productive employee and invariably he or she will make wrong decisions which someone else will have to rectify later on. Organisations should instead focus on giving employees the support they need to get better as this will benefit the business in the long run."

As part of the Simplyhealth Group, HSA can offer a range of simple and affordable healthcare benefits perfect for companies of all sizes and budgets. For further information, visit hsa.co.uk.