Is absenteeism a reflection of a lack of workplace inclusion?
Sue Murray, head of human resources and absence management expert at business software specialist The Access Group, asks if we really know the real reasons behind staff absences. The latest statistics from the governments Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that 17.9 million working days are being lost each year due to stress, depression or anxiety, which represents a year-on-year increase of almost 40 per cent. Such a rise is inevitably concerning, but remember that the true reasons behind issues such as stress, while incredibly complex, can still be within our control as employers. Behind the terminology, its important to make time to dig deeper and find out whats really going on in your workforce. Inclusivity is a common hidden issue that many companies overlook, as they believe they are already ticking all the right boxes when it comes to diversity. The starting point here has to be an understanding of the differences between diversity and inclusion.