Based on figures available for the level of employee absence in Malta from 2002 to 2009, there is a clear drop in the number of sick days taken per employee over the years.
The average level of employee absence in Malta for 2009 has fallen to 5.2 days per employee per year from 5.3 days per employee per year in the previous year. This average was as high as 6.2 in 2003.
The average level of absence remains highest in the public sector at 7.9 days per employee per year, which shows a slight decrease from the previous year’s figure of 8.2 days per employee per year. The private sector also showed a very slight drop from four days per employee per year in 2008 to 3.9 days per employee per year in 2009.
Comparing our average number of sickness days with the UK, one is pleasantly surprised to find out that the number in the UK is significantly higher than Malta’s.
In the UK, the average number of sickness days in 2009 was 7.4. In the UK public sector, the average is 9.7 days. Therefore, the general mentality that the Maltese workforce has a ‘sickie culture’ would seem to be an incorrect perception when validated.
Working as an occupational doctor, the main causes of absence I see are minor illnesses such as common colds, seasonal influenza and stomach upsets. Some differences may be seen between manual and non-manual workers, whereby the former suffer from more musculoskeletal ailments and the latter exhibit more psychological or stress-related complaints.
Long-term absence, on the other hand, is usually due to acute medical conditions, mental ill-health such as clinical depression and anxiety, and musculoskeletal conditions.
When managing short-term absence, the most commonly used approach is return-to-work interviews. Other effective approaches include an identification of trigger mechanisms, the use of disciplinary procedures and restrictions on sick pay.
On the other hand, the involvement of occupational health professionals is identified as the most effective approach to managing long-term absence.
The introduction of flexible working as well as rehabilitation programmes also enables a consistent and co-ordinated approach to help employees return to work after long-term absence.
Surveys also show there is a clear relationship between workforce size and absence level, with smaller organisations likely to record lower levels of absence than larger organisations.
This is because people working in small organisations work in smaller teams and their absence from work is likely to be more disruptive and harder to compensate for.
The obvious gap between public and private sectors is also likely to concern employers. There is no simple explanation for this gap, with a number offactors likely to account for the contrast.
It is often argued that one of the factors for the gap is that public sector organisations are typically larger than their private sector counterparts.
However, surveys show that public sector companies have a higher level of absence regardless of company size. Research in the UK has shown that another reason for this gap may be that public sector organisations typically employ a higher proportion of female and older workers, who record higher-than-average levels of absence.
Also, the types of job within the public sector may be a contributory factor to higher levels of absence, with a higher proportion of challenging public-facing roles such as those involved in policing, healthcare provision, teaching and social care.
On the management side, public sector organisations are less likely to use disciplinaryprocedures to manage unacceptable absence, discipline ordismiss employees for absence-related reasons, or restrictsick pay.
Employers therefore need to find the right balance between providing support for employees and taking firm action against the minority who seek to take advantage of their occupational sick pay schemes.
Employee well-being strategies are now also commonplacemethods to decrease sickness absence rates. The most common benefit is access to counselling services, employee assistance programmes, stop-smokingsupport and subsidised gym memberships.
Some companies also make use of healthy canteen options or private medical insurance provision.
The local rate of sickness absence is on the decrease, one of the main reasons being that due to the recession most companies are tackling this issue more agressively to reduce cost. Another reason for the fall in average level of absence might be the increased employee concern over job security.
Some employers may think that staff concern over job security has had the effect of a decrease in the average level of absence.
Another reason could be that with the influx of foreign workers who may be more hard-working and less demanding than Maltese counterparts, fear of loss of one’s job has helped diminish work absence.
gretaapap@medicareservices.com.mt.