Growing levels of sickness are being blamed for under-performance in engineering businesses throughout the UK, says report

A surprisingly high proportion of engineering sector managers (62 per cent) admit to being unproductive for at least 20 per cent of their working time, due to poor health.

According to research published by the Chartered Management Institute and Workplace Health Connect, sickness levels are increasing, but managers in the engineering sector are unwilling to report their symptoms.

The report also shows that 37 per cent of managers in the engineering sector have difficulty concentrating, due to ill-health. However, it reveals that organisations in the sector are not doing enough to tackle workplace illness, resulting in a negative impact on employee well-being and performance.

The Quality of Working Life report questioned 1541 managers in the UK showing a poor picture of health. Key findings of the report were:

• Ill-health plagues business. Sixty per cent claimed that illness rates in their organisation have increased over the past 12 months. However, only one in three report symptoms to their line manager indicating a much deeper malaise.
• Health and safety rising up the agenda. The report revealed that 56 per cent of managers in the sector agreed that the senior management team in their organisation considered health and safety to be important. Almost half (45 per cent) suggested that the issues were becoming increasingly important. This figure rose to 52 per cent for growing companies but was notably reduced amongst declining firms (36 per cent).
• Lack of policy and training regarding workplace health. Nearly all organisations in the engineering sector have general health and safety policies in place, yet far fewer (55 per cent) have policies on occupational illness or managing absence (50 per cent). Fewer still offer training in these two areas (26 and 16 per cent, respectively).
•  Health initiatives boost business. Where health initiatives and benefits are offered by organisations there is an increase in the physical and psychological health of employees. However, while flexible working patterns (58 per cent) have become relatively common, health screenings (38 per cent) or stress management advice (42 per cent) is less common.

Mary Chapman, chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute, says: "The health of UK workplaces needs greater attention. With such high levels of illness being experienced, organisations and individuals must act to maintain their competitive edge. Failure to do so will lead to disruption because health clearly has an impact on performance, productivity and ultimately, the bottom line."

Elizabeth Gyngell, programme director at Workplace Health Connect, says: "Ill-health in the workplace is having an adverse affect on UK business productivity, so reducing the incidence of illness or injury, caused or made worse by work, needs to become a priority. Everyone needs to play a role in improving the quality of health in their workplace. By working together, the right systems and procedures can be put in place that should benefit the entire workforce and the business itself."

For more information, visit www.managers.org.uk/researchreports