The UK Health, Work and Wellbeing initiative has worked hard to publicise the link between good health and good work. Their landmark research has proven the link between healthy, happy employees and productive business.

Spurred on by this knowledge, many UK companies are moving to improve the health and well-being of their workforce. By implementing creative work-health strategies, these companies have discovered successful ways of reducing their rates of absenteeism. What they didn’t expect was the flow on effect these programs would have on productivity and their financial bottom line.

Sickness absence alone costs Britain 175 million working days a year, costing the economy £13 billion annually. Extended absenteeism has a very real impact on business, including:

• Losses in productivity;
• Decreased staff retention = increased rehiring and training costs;
• A rise in staff compensation claims and more complicated claims = increased claim costs and a rise in insurance premiums; and
• Increased staff stress = higher rate of compensation claims and increased risk of workplace injury.

The following three case studies should help you see how even the biggest companies can create innovative solutions to common, but solvable, health issues.

Case Study 1

Company: Bradford & Bingley. Staff: 3,200.

Experiencing high levels of extended absenteeism, Bradford & Bingley consulted with workplace health professionals and identified worker health issues including:

• High work stress;
• OHS and wellbeing issues at work;
• A high number of personal mental health problems;
• Poor physical health of workers; and
• A high rate of long term sickness.

How did they address it?

Bradford & Bingley developed and instituted:

• Stress management programs for all staff;
• A counselling service for staff;
• An Occupational therapist advice service;
• Regular quit smoking sessions for all staff;
• Driving safety programmes;
• Staff discounts on bicycle purchases;
• Massage sessions for all staff;
• Staff discounts at local gyms;
• Healthy eating policy at staff cafeterias;
• Blood pressure testing; and
• Improved procedures for managing long term sickness absence.

The results?

• Stress absence rates alone decreased by 80 per cent. This is estimated to have saved £250,000, or $436,000 AUD.
• Staff turnover reduced from 30.1 per cent to 23.3 per cent in one year.
• A one per cent increase in productivity, at no extra cost.

The company’s conclusion? “A physically and mentally healthy workforce is a more content, motivated and productive one.”

Case Study 2

Company: EDF Energy. Staff: 13,000.

EDF Energy was experiencing early retirement by staff with psychological ill-health, proving very costly. They also identified that psychological difficulties amongst some staff was increasing the company’s overall risk of accidents.

Solving the problem

Consulting occupational health experts and psychologists, they developed an “Employee Support Program.” Employees were then encouraged to access the service at the first signs of stress or the development of a stress-related illness.

EDF developed a policy whereby if a worker needs to take psychological sickness leave, their return to work is facilitated in a “round-table” manner, involving treatment professionals and management.

This is aimed at openly discussing factors that lead to the illness, so that they may be resolved and durable return to work can be achieved for the worker in question. The discussion also provides insight into how the workplace can fix systemic problems and take preventative measures against further psychological illness in the future.

What were the results?

• A drop in lost working days due to psychological illness, from 1.76 to 1.35. This saved EDF Energy £1.3m ($2.2m AUD).
• A reduction in work-related psychological illness from 52.6 per cent, to 35 per cent.
• The number of people already off-work at the time of their referral dropped by 50 per cent.

Recurring Themes

According to Working for Health UK, the most common health problems such as musculoskeletal injuries and work-related stress account for two-thirds of longer-term sickness absence, incapacity for work and ill-health retirement.
These simple conditions, managed and prevented properly, are highly avoidable.

In purely financial terms, if employers can identify particular workplace health problem-areas and implement relevant well-being initiatives, they can expect to gain a 300 per cent return on their investment. Read “Top Ten Reasons to have a Health and Wellbeing Program” for more info.

The UK Working for Health “Healthy People = Healthy Profits” resource has more info and a video for employers.

And RTWMatters has covered more UK case studies here.