- non-modifiable sick absence being illnesses and medical conditions that we as employers can't influence at all (except to support staff whilst they're off work/back into work)
- modifiable sick absence being non-genuine absence, and stress and work-related stress. This is absence the employer - and the individual - can influence and do something about.
It requires us to explore how and by what means we can promote wellbeing and modify (unhelpful) behaviours and culture, and not just take a preventative, and risk assessment approach. We'll need to do this across the individual, managerial and organisational levels.
It's going to be difficult to achieve if we don't have real and visible senior management commitment to wellbeing, with people who 'walk the walk' as well as 'talk the talk'. But as I've spoken to you about before, a lot springs from the individual and their performance - 'the individual is the organisation' - how they feel about the job, themselves and the organisation, and how engaged and committed etc they are.
What our managers can do is to become skilled at promoting wellbeing, preventing poor wellbeing, and managing stress if it does occur. It will also be helpful if they recognise that there's only so much that they can do, and provided they've done the right thing, and have covered all the bases, they should be satisfied. (I mention this as it can be quite stressful too for managers dealing with stress cases - 'Am I doing the right thing?'; 'What more can I do?' - particularly if they themselves aren't feeling particularly supported). A couple of suggestions:
- download the Line manager guidance from CIPD/HSE/IiP. This provides details of the competencies required to promote wellbeing and prevent and manage stress and/or
- download the 'Stress Management Competencies' questionnaire: this will give an idea of how well the manager matches up to the competencies required, with recommendations for areas of development. If you're interested in training and developing your managers in the above, have a look at our Promoting Wellbeing/Preventing Stress training programme.
As for the individual, what they can do is to take responsibility for their own wellbeing and (be encouraged and supported to) acknowledge that they are resourceful and can promote and look after their health and wellbeing and be resilient, and deal with their situation, particularly at times of change, uncertainty and adversity. More on this below.
