Last month (September 2023), the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) reported that employees took an average of 7.8 days off sick in the past year – with that number on the rise since 2019.
While education, like much of the public sector, has always had to find ways to work around staff absence with minimum disruption to students, this steep increase nationally will likely be reflected next time we get new data from DfE.
While the national data is new, the trend of increased absences has been growing for some time, with a marked increase in long-term sick rising after the pandemic. However, the latest figures echo those seen after the financial crash in 2008 supporting the theory that it’s not just viruses that are keeping people away from the office, but also external factors that have a profound impact on people’s wellbeing. Then, it was recession and job security, now it is inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.
An important and urgent concern is becoming more complex by the day. How can we work to support staff, minimise the impact on students and modernise the relationship between employers and employees?
Employers across all sectors are being urged to provide more flexibility to employees, but what does this look like in education and what other support needs to be put in place? How does a responsible employer navigate the sensitivities of a supportive work environment, whilst maintaining the student experience?
I have reached the conclusion that it is so much more than a wellbeing strategy. We must look at preventative support, collecting data and providing balance. Better training for managers to handle difficult conversations – improving and adding to the ‘manager’s toolbox’ to better adapt to the modern workforce.
We’ve been working with employers to bring together strategies and processes to better manage absence, auditing processes and ensuring they are purposeful.
Personology can help you better manage absence in your college. If you’d like to join the conversation, please do get in touch.
About the author
Shakira Joyner
Shakira Joyner is Company Director at Personology. An accomplished Senior Human Resources Consultant, Shakira has a diverse skill set in human resources management, including undertaking confidential forensic investigations, change management, performance management and establishing strategic in- house HR functions. Well-practiced in advising on complex disciplinary and grievance matters and working with professional high level, senior managers to achieve resolution, Shakira has an extensive career in human resources management, with particular specialism in the education sector and has undertaken complex cases involving safeguarding and Employment Tribunal work.