What might be going on for employees on National Sickie Day?
When I was looking through the list of awareness days for 2024, this one jumped out at me so I asked ‘Google’ more about it and it came up with this information:
Known as National Sickie Day in the UK, the first Monday of every February is statistically the day when most workers are likely to call in sick, according to research first conducted by British law firm ELAS in 2011.
Experts attribute this to a combination of gloomy weather, post-holiday blues, and seasonal illnesses. Unsurprisingly, depression and anxiety run high during the winter months. Although the term ‘sickie’ implies false pretences, labour and mental health advocates argue that the stigma around mental health issues leads many people to use other, more ‘legitimate’ illnesses as their stated reasons for staying home.
In 2020, around 600,000 workers called in sick, costing the British economy close to 45 million pounds. However, experts argue that taking a day off may actually be more productive than going to work sick, where the employee is likely to spread illness and function at reduced capacity.
Too many employees lie about why they stay home because they’re afraid of the stigma that comes with admitting to mental health issues. De-stigmatising mental health will help more workers feel comfortable accessing resources and taking time off when they need it, leading to happier workforces and improved productivity. Fair, reasonable time-off policies can reduce worker dishonesty and improve worker health and relations between employers and employees.
It makes sense to me that for the reasons stated above this day in the depths of February would be a day when mental health dips and with it a desire to get out of bed, never mind actually to attend work. I remember in the past fielding calls from staff when I worked in an HR department in the nineties, and it would have been unheard of for someone to say they needed the day off for their mental health! I think there is less stigma and I wonder how much it really has changed?
As someone with ME/CFS, it can be especially tough being able to work. My mental health definitely suffers because of the strain of dealing with a long-term condition with fluctuating, unpredictable symptoms and living with almost constant pain takes its inevitable toll. Cognitive fatigue is also very challenging and I have a very low tolerance for stress so if stressful events are going on in my life elsewhere this directly impacts the resources I have available for work, which in itself can then prove challenging in a vicious circle kind of way.
@stickmancommunications.co.uk
Supporting colleagues or employees with invisible disabilities
Having any kind of invisible disability is challenging. Invisible or hidden disability is a term used to describe a wide range of health conditions and learning difficulties including anxiety and depression, visual and hearing impairments, autism, persistent pain, CFS/ME, Crohn’s disease, colitis, endometriosis, migraines - the list goes on…It is often defined as a disability that cannot be seen or is not immediately obvious to others and it can be very hard to talk to colleagues and employers about. Of course if we don’t share our experience in ways that help the other person to hear us (i.e. without judgemental language for example) then there can be something of an information gap where all sorts of assumptions are made about each others motives and reasoning.
For colleagues or employers asking the question about the person’s experience rather than make assumptions can really help. Other suggestions are:-
Ask what you can do to assist rather than offer suggestions before checking out what might be helpful to them
Remember pain or fatigue can be invisible or fluctuate considerably and it’s about the person’s capacity to do things rather than their skills
Small changes such as postural shifts or more regular breaks can really assist someone if that’s what they feel empowered to do (i.e. without judgment from colleagues)
Support your colleague with acknowledging positives about their attributes or their ability/behaviour rather than colluding too much with the pain/fatigue (which anxiety can often aggravate)
Keep things specific and related to behaviours/to what is observable, and keep your questions open (how, what, why etc) with a consideration of when it’s best to have these types of sensitive discussions.
Presenteeism can be an issue for employers especially of remote staff who are more likely to keep working, despite being unwell, due to the challenges of working from home.
When everything is set up at home it is easy to start work before breakfast and still be responding to emails in the evening so and It’s easy to still be checking in on work emails from your sick bed these days thanks to technology.
Our programmes help people to learn how to better balance activity and rest. So for example I work from 9am until lunchtime, rest in the afternoon and then resume some work in the early evening. I also take regular ‘unplugged’ times off work where I try to do very little, which includes one day a week that I keep clear of commitments. It includes minimising stress and practising regulating my nervous system from an activated state to a ‘rest and digest’ mode - through meditation, yoga nidra, breath work and so on. Naturally, these strategies support my mental health generally and thereby reduce the likelihood of needing time off through sickness.
Difficulties sustaining work
Patterns of repeated time off from work can be very wearing for both the employee and the employer. We often find that it’s the sustainability of work that needs to be looked at and how perhaps small changes can support someone to be able to work without taking repeated sick days. These patterns can be a sign that something needs to be looked at about how a person is working with a consideration of work design, hours, and whether there are options for more flexible working for example.