According to recent research, workers in the UK are off sick more now than at any point in the last ten years in a current workplace sickness 10 year high.
The average pre-pandemic sickness rates stood at 5.8 days, whereas the figure for the past year stands at 7.8 days sick days on average, according to the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD).
The increase was concluded by the research body to be down to a combination of stress, COVID and the cost of living crisis, which they deemed as having “profound impacts on many people’s wellbeing”.
The study encompassed absence rates from over 900 organisations, which covers around 6.4 million employees and was carried out by healthcare company, Simplyhealth.
Minor injuries were revealed as the most common reason for short-term staff absence, with musculoskeletal injuries and mental illness following in second and third place respectively.
One third of organisations examined revealed that COVID was still a big contributor to staff absence, with long-term sicknesses being attributed to the aforementioned mental ill-health an musculoskeletal issues, but also cancer and strokes.
The CIPD also found that post-pandemic working culture combined with the cost of living crisis have resulted in some workers feeling disengaged and stressed. Working from home policies and isolation are also believed to be a factor for staff who live alone or have restricted contact with people outside of a working environment.
Whilst most of the workplaces surveyed offered sick pay and around half had strategies in place to improve staff wellbeing, rates are rising regardless and the CIPD states that more work still needs to be done to mitigate this.
Further reading
Stress at work claims – Oakwood Solicitors
How do I make a claim for stress at work? – Oakwood Solicitors
Types of stress at work claims – Oakwood Solicitors
WHAT TO DO NEXT
Get in touch today for a no-obligation consultation. Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page, or call us on 0113 200 9720 to find out how we can help you.
Jessica Rowson started as a Paralegal at Oakwood Solicitors in July 2010, qualifying as a Solicitor in September 2013. Following her qualifying as a Solicitor, Jessica established a niche department …
Stress Awareness Day – Signs of stress and how to combat it
We can all feel overwhelmed with life at times, particularly as we are living in an age of ever-escalating prices, worldwide political instability and intermittent fuel and energy uncertainties he…
View
Workplace Accidents Caused By Stress, Overworking and Social Anxiety – Post COVID
Work-related accidents occur more regularly than some people might think. The UK alone sees hundreds of thousands of workplace injuries every single year, many of them being serious or fatal.…
View
What is Workplace Bullying?
On the surface, "What is workplace bullying?" seems like an obvious question. Bullying can involve verbal disagreements and arguments, but it can also be more subtle.
Oth…
View
