February 2007
Welcome to the HCML monthly rehabilitation news bulletin for February 2007.
Our aim in this bulletin is to give you an overview of what is happening in rehabilitation, and what is contributing either to early returns to work after injury, or causing injuries and other conditions to last longer than they need to.
We welcome users’ comment or suggestions for new subject areas we might monitor. If you would like to know more about HCML please visit our site
Effective support for 'traumatised' workers
A new study has highlighted effective ways of supporting traumatised employees following violent attacks, verbal abuse, road accidents and other such incidents which happen at work. Researchers from the University of Sheffield, teamed up with the Institute for Employment Studies and occupational health providers Atos Origin, to examine ways of cutting staff absence and improving support for traumatised workers.
The study, which was commissioned by the British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF), focused on the Royal Mail Group (RMG) and identified 815 workers who had been exposed to a potentially traumatic incident, and then tracked them over 13 months.
The Institute for Employment Studies said the RMG was chosen because of its "well-established trauma management programme" and the range of traumatic incidents its workers might experience - such as armed raids, road accidents and verbal abuse.
SPoT the difference
It found three vital aspects when it came to managing workplace trauma. The first was providing practical support on the day of the incident - referred to by the researchers as 'crisis management'.
The second was provision by management of "appropriate practical, emotional and social support" - referred to as a Support Post Trauma (SPoT) protocol. The third and final ingredient was the provision of further ongoing support from a professional trauma counselling service.
The study also found nothing to suggest that the trauma management procedures implemented by RMG were having a negative effect on employees, and that their strategy was both "safe and effective".
Little guidance
Dr Jo Rick, from the Institute of Work Psychology at the University of Sheffield, who led the research, said: "For a long time there has been much debate about the appropriate response to psychological trauma. The lack of evidence on the best response to trauma has left employers with little or no guidance on what to do for the best. Our research moves beyond this deadlock... and provides evidence about different approaches which work."
She added: "It also identifies that the way individual employees perceive the support offered by their organisation post trauma could play an important part in their recovery and reduce sickness absence post trauma."
The researchers found that the more workers felt they were being supported by their employer following a traumatic incident, the less likely they were to take time off. The research report - entitled 'Early intervention following trauma' - can be downloaded from the Institute for Employment Studies website.
Are your staff fit for work?
As individuals, we are more health-conscious than ever before. We take a more active interest in our diet, such that many of us check the nutritional information on food labels and eat more vegetables, fruit and salads. But in the workplace, stress is on the increase which is causing a real problem for British employers.
According to Mind, the mental health charity, anxiety and stress are responsible for the loss of around 45 million working days a year, costing the UK economy a staggering £100 billion. In addition, unplanned absences puts undue pressure on colleagues who are expected to pick up the extra work.
But it is not just staff absences that are costing businesses. Members of staff can be present at work while not operating at full strength and research shows that people in poor health are 20% less productive.
According to Vielife, about 30% of the population can be described as being in poor health at any one time: they may be stressed, lacking in sleep, have low fitness levels or a bad diet. All these factors contribute to lower productivity.
Work related ill-health can happen in any organisation, large or small, and the actual costs are far greater than one might imagine. In addition to sickness absence and lost productivity costs, overtime payments, missed deadlines and the cost of recruiting and retraining staff are all negative consequences of employee illness.
The health of UK workplaces certainly needs attention. With ill-health on the increase, businesses and individuals need to act now to maintain a competitive edge as failure to act will clearly have an impact on performance, productivity and profit.
According to a survey conducted by Human Resources Magazine in May 06, more organisations than ever before are realising that health clearly has an impact on business.
Specifically they noted that more than 60% of organisations saw the health of their employees as a priority; one in four said it was a 'top' priority; more than half the companies surveyed said they were working to reduce the costs of ill health; and more than one in ten said they would like to reduce those costs but did not know how to.
Workplace initiatives to prevent absence was also a top priority for 44% of employers, with 40% saying the same thing about health initiatives to optimise performance as it is a fact that healthy people are more productive.
Clearly there is a willingness to do something about ill-health in the workplace, but what is the best approach to this growing problem?
Offering free gym membership, sports and social club facilities, fitness assessments, rooms for power naps and encouraging staff to take advantage of online access to qualified health and medical information are just some of the options available to managers.
Well-being and private medical policies are also popular with staff, and can help businesses reduce staff turnover.
Focusing on staff's mental well-being should also be considered - how you motivate staff and boost staff moral, as both have a significant impact on staff absence, recruitment and retention levels.
There are three other options worth considering, which may help tackle this growing ill-health problem. It is worth remembering that some employers choose to focus on providing benefits when staff are not well, while others focus on prevention rather than cure.
First, help people to manage minor health problems in work, before they become major problems resulting in absence from work. The early stages of stress, for example, may hinder a person from carrying out their job effectively in the short term. Providing access to appropriate treatment or counselling may help them remain in work.
Second, help people return to health following an absence from work because of illness. After a long-term absence, it is often difficult to return to work. Providing access to specialist support such as employment advice or offering flexi or part time work may help the employee settle back to work.
Lastly, help staff avoid work-related health problems. Providing telephone access to general practitioners, counsellors or easily accessed information on health, nutrition, fitness and stress management may help people to remain healthy. In addition, providing a good working environment such as improved lighting, plenty of water and controlling the room temperature can be implemented at fairly low cost.
Ill-health in the workplace is not about to go away and is having a huge impact on performance, productivity and profit. We need to reduce the levels of sickness or injury, caused or exacerbated by work, by focusing on employees' health and well-being now. Failure to do so will lead to higher staff turnover and absenteeism, increased recruiting and retraining costs and reduced productivity levels.
James Wallis is managing director of insurance third-party administrator PlusOne Services
Effective trauma management can reduce staff absence
Researchers at the University of Sheffield, in collaboration with the Institute for Employment Studies and Atos Origin, have identified that effective trauma management in the workplace can reduce staff absence and lead to better health amongst employees.
The new study, which was commissioned by the British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF), found that an organisation that provides simple yet effective strategies to manage post trauma in the workplace can reduce the negative symptoms that its employees experience.
The researchers, from the Institute of Work Psychology at the University, looked at the Royal Mail Group (RMG) and identified 815 workers, over a two-year period, who had been exposed to a potentially traumatic incident and then tracked them over 13 months. The Royal Mail Group was chosen because it has a well-established trauma management programme in place and the range of jobs in the organisation means that the trauma incidents experienced are varied, from armed raids and hostage taking situations, to road traffic accidents and verbal abuse.
The RMG trauma management programme consists of three phases: practical support on the day of the incident in the form of crisis management; a Support Post Trauma (SPoT) protocol designed by Atos Origin to ensure managers provide appropriate practical, emotional and social support; and further ongoing support from a professional trauma counselling service provided by Atos Origin.
The researchers found that sickness absence amongst employees, following trauma, significantly correlated with the perceived organisational support employees thought they received, with those who felt supported immediately post trauma having lower absence 12 months later. The study also found that perceived support from the organisation is more important in helping employees recover from trauma than the specific form of support.
Dr Jo Rick, from the Institute of Work Psychology at the University of Sheffield, who led the research team, said: “For a long time there has been much debate about the appropriate response to psychological trauma. This is primarily due to adverse outcomes of psychological debriefing – the most popular organisational response to trauma. The lack of evidence on the best response to trauma has left employers with little or no guidance on what to do for the best.”
“Our research moves beyond this deadlock and, in line with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, and provides evidence about different approaches which work. It also identifies that the way individual employees perceive the support offered by their organisation post trauma could play an important part in their recovery and reduce sickness absence post trauma.”
Management of traumatised employees shown to reduce sickness absence
Effective trauma management in the workplace can reduce staff absence and lead to better employee, research has shown. A study, commissioned by the British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF), found that an organisation that provides simple yet effective strategies to manage trauma in the workplace can reduce the negative symptoms that employees experience.
The researchers, from the Institute of Work Psychology at the University of Sheffield, looked at the Royal Mail Group and identified 815 workers over a two-year period who had been exposed to a potentially traumatic incident. The study then tracked them over 13 months.
Royal Mail was chosen because it has a well-established trauma management programme. The range of jobs in the organisation meant that the trauma incidents experienced were varied, from armed raids and hostage-taking situations, to road traffic accidents and verbal abuse.
The researchers found that sickness absence among employees following a traumatic incident correlated significantly with perceived organisational support immediately following the trauma. Employees who felt they had received support showed lower absence 12 months later.
The study also found that perceived support from the organisation was more important in helping employees recover from trauma than the specific form of support.
Dr Jo Rick of the Institute of Work Psychology, who led the research team, said: "The lack of evidence on the best response to trauma has left employers with little or no guidance on what to do for the best.
"Our research moves beyond this deadlock and provides evidence about different approaches which work. It also identifies that the way individual employees perceive the support offered by their organisation post-trauma could play an important part in their recovery and reduce sickness absence post-trauma."
All news reported in this bulletin and on the HCML site is taken from the sources quoted. It is intended to inform readers about the news that has been reported in a given month and is in no way indicative of any attitude or policy of HCML.