Mental health problems and MSDs top absence risk league

News | HSW
12.08.2007

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and mental health conditions pose the greatest risk of lost working time for organisations, according to new research published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

MSDs account for more than 10% of all absences, with each absence spell lasting an average of 9.25 days.

Mental health problems such as stress and depression caused employees to be away for much longer average bouts of time - 20.84 days per absence - but caused far fewer absences (only 3.5% of the total) so were rated second in the table for their impact on employers.

To create the risk ranking, researchers commissioned by the CIPD and absence management specialists Active Health Partners analysed the attendance records of 30,000 employees in 40 large organisations. The resulting table places gastrointestinal problems third (20.4% of all absences but only 2.7 days per spell), followed by infections.  Injury (at or away from work) ranked sixth.

Broken down by age and sex, the figures reveal broadly similar average spells among men and women for most conditions (though men with cardiovascular problems are off almost twice as long as women) and older workers are more likely to take longer spells.

The average length of absence spells due to conditions such as MSDs, unspecified injury and mental health problems rose steadily through the age bands. For stress and depression, employees aged between 55 and 65 took an average of 36 days off at a time, compared with only 17 days for those under 25.

CIPD employee relations adviser Ben Willmott said the findings on mental health showed how important it is for managers to watch for the signs of distress "so that they can take action early and provide support before the individual's condition deteriorates to the point they go off on long-term sick leave".

New Directions in Managing Employee Absence costs £49.99 (£29.99 to CIPD members) from www.cipd.co.uk/bookstore