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A NEW report claims that ill-health in UK emergency services has risen significantly in the past year as a culture of ‘work while you’re sick’ takes hold.
The Quality of Working Life report says that lack of care for emergency services staff is taking its toll in terms of productivity, commitment levels and lower motivation.
Produced by the Chartered Management Institute and Simplyhealth, the report sets out the findings of a survey of 1,500 managers in the sector.
Some 39% said that illness rates in their organisation have gone up over the last 12 months, and 1 in 3 think there is a culture of not taking time off work for sickness.
Although 58% said their organisation is committed to employee wellbeing, many of those surveyed think ill health is seen as a weakness by their employers: only 46% of managers said they are treated sympathetically if they are off sick. The ‘work while you’re sick’ culture is resulting in declining performance, claims the report.
It found that treatment of staff at work is having an impact on morale: 51% of managers said they work beyond contract hours; 1 in 2 said they were not ‘positively motivated’ about work; and 48% think opportunities for professional development are restricted.
The Quality of Working Life report is available from the ‘Research reports’ section of: http://www.managers.org.uk/
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