Work colleagues affected by long-term absence

Employment Law & HR update 20/07/2011

Many employees are affected by their colleagues taking long-term leaves of absence from work, according to new research from Aviva UK Health.

Sixty-nine per cent of employers questioned by Aviva reported that long-term absence is an issue within their company. Twenty per cent of employees have taken long-term leaves of absence as a result of mental health problems, whilst 24 per cent have been off work as a result of muscular or skeletal conditions.

Twenty-three per cent of staff members reported that they found it uncomfortable working for a firm in which their colleagues takes long-term leaves of absence. Twenty-two per cent said that they felt irritated at having to cover the work of a fellow employee who was off sick long-term.

Ten per cent of employees reported having concerns that the firm go out of business if one of their colleagues was off on long-term sick leave, which could result in others losing their jobs.

Head of group risk at Aviva UK Health, Steve Bridger, says, “Our research shows that it is not unusual for an employee to be off sick for a prolonged period of time at some point during their working life. If this happens, both the emotional and financial strains on the absent employee and remaining team members can be huge.”