What’s contributing to workers taking 112m sick days a year?
03/11/2024
In the last year, 112.5m sick days were taken by those with long-term conditions - however just one third were offered employer support to return to work.
A new study we released today with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) found that the number of workers with long-term health conditions has increased by 27% in the last six years to a record high of 10.3 million. These workers took a total of 112.5m sick days in 2023, an increase of nearly 70% over the same period.
What are the biggest contributors to employees taking 112m sick days a year?
OnePoll research commissioned by Zurich amongst 1,000 employees (from a range of businesses) who have been on long term sick in the last 12 months found that the biggest contributors are:
- Mental health (44%)
- Musculoskeletal problems (14%) such as back pain. An increase in musculoskeletal issues could in part be attributed to an increase in home working, with many employees still using sub-standard space and equipment, leading to poor posture.
- Respiratory conditions (7%)
- Gastrointestinal problems (7%).
Peter Hamilton, Head of Market at Zurich, comments: “The Cebr findings reflect what we are seeing from our customers. With so many people now working from home, musculoskeletal issues are likely to continue to represent a dominant part of the problem, as too many employees will not have the correct home office set up. This, coupled with the widely reported challenge of hospital waiting times, is creating the perfect storm for an increasingly absent workforce”
Rehabilitation, the unsung hero helping people back to work
Data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), shows that insurers are already making a major contribution towards reducing the length and frequency of long-term sickness absence.
In 2021, over 1.6m people used the health services available to them through insurance. This encompasses services for prevention, early care, diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and support.
An analysis of around 16,000 vocational rehabilitation cases found that nearly 9 in 10 (86%) people remained in the workforce following access to rehabilitation services through insurance.
Zurich’s rehabilitation services
The Zurich General Insurance Rehabilitation Team are an in-house team of qualified nurses and allied health professionals who assess and support employees if they have an injury that occurred as a direct result of a workplace incident.
Our team of professionals will help you and your business reduce the costs of injuries and accidents at work by ensuring your employees access appropriate and timely treatment.
Our Claims Manager, Rehabilitation Case Managers and Rehabilitation Assistants will support you and your employees if they have an injury arising from a workplace incident and can offer immediate access to professional medical expertise.
It is an evidence-based fact that the longer an employee is absent from work, the harder it is for them to return. In most cases we can arrange for treatment to start within a few weeks of receiving your referral which helps ensure the best possible outcome for your employee so that they can return to work sooner.
Find out more about Zurich’s General Insurance rehab services here.
