A positive mindset keeps the doctor away
Absenteeism specialist software company CAM Solutions has released statistics, outlining the employees in a sample study who don't take any sick leave at all during a one-year period. The statistics, generated by Absolv absenteeism software, shows that in the 2007 cycle (Oct 2006 - Sept 2007), 47.2% all staff in the sample of more than 150 000 employees in over 60 South African companies did not take any sick leave at all. For the same period in 2008, the percentage of employees in this sample who did not take any sick leave had risen to 51.3%.
CAMS Chief Executive Johnny Johnson says, “Trend analysis over the last 10 years has shown that absenteeism rates are lower at times of downturn in the economy. As the economic situation worsens employees might feel their jobs could be threatened if they don't go to work. Wellness programs have also become more popular with employers and this could be contributing successfully to healthier lifestyles and positive mindsets for employees, or it could simply be that less people are getting ill and are not allowing minor illnesses to get them down."
Counselling psychologist Robin Farrington says as with any type of human behaviour, psychological and social factors intervene and influence the way people behave when they become ill. Individuals with a positive mindset often do not let life's problems get to them and have better resources to cope with stress. Stress has a direct effect on the immune system so it is often the cause of, or can exacerbate, illness. “Also, positive people tend not to take up the sick role; they don’t give an illness the time and space to develop. Whereas others who become ill, make sure that they have the time and resources to take up the sick role fully. A positive frame of mind also leads to a better lifestyle, inclusive of exercise and healthy eating, and therefore better health follows.
“A change to a positive mindset involves lifelong application, but a good mental attitude can help people who are always getting sick to become healthier,” notes Farrington.
HR Consultant for national insurance brokers Frontline Underwriting Managers, Tanya Bonner, says their firm has a very low absenteeism rate in their branches in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban.
“We believe this is because we continuously monitor our company’s wellness. When you take a genuine interest in the lives of the people who work for you it places you in the position where you can be firm without rubbing people up the wrong way; as well being compassionate and making appropriate allowances. It’s also a two way street. The company and its people are interdependent. Our employees know that we attribute our successes directly to them. With that comes significant ownership of the job. They treat the business as if it were their own.
Absenteeism specialist software company CAM Solutions has released statistics, outlining the employees in a sample study who don't take any sick leave at all during a one-year period. The statistics, generated by Absolv absenteeism software, shows that in the 2007 cycle (Oct 2006 - Sept 2007), 47.2% all staff in the sample of more than 150 000 employees in over 60 South African companies did not take any sick leave at all. For the same period in 2008, the percentage of employees in this sample who did not take any sick leave had risen to 51.3%.
CAMS Chief Executive Johnny Johnson says, “Trend analysis over the last 10 years has shown that absenteeism rates are lower at times of downturn in the economy. As the economic situation worsens employees might feel their jobs could be threatened if they don't go to work. Wellness programs have also become more popular with employers and this could be contributing successfully to healthier lifestyles and positive mindsets for employees, or it could simply be that less people are getting ill and are not allowing minor illnesses to get them down."
Counselling psychologist Robin Farrington says as with any type of human behaviour, psychological and social factors intervene and influence the way people behave when they become ill. Individuals with a positive mindset often do not let life's problems get to them and have better resources to cope with stress. Stress has a direct effect on the immune system so it is often the cause of, or can exacerbate, illness. “Also, positive people tend not to take up the sick role; they don’t give an illness the time and space to develop. Whereas others who become ill, make sure that they have the time and resources to take up the sick role fully. A positive frame of mind also leads to a better lifestyle, inclusive of exercise and healthy eating, and therefore better health follows.
“A change to a positive mindset involves lifelong application, but a good mental attitude can help people who are always getting sick to become healthier,” notes Farrington.
HR Consultant for national insurance brokers Frontline Underwriting Managers, Tanya Bonner, says their firm has a very low absenteeism rate in their branches in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban.
“We believe this is because we continuously monitor our company’s wellness. When you take a genuine interest in the lives of the people who work for you it places you in the position where you can be firm without rubbing people up the wrong way; as well being compassionate and making appropriate allowances. It’s also a two way street. The company and its people are interdependent. Our employees know that we attribute our successes directly to them. With that comes significant ownership of the job. They treat the business as if it were their own.
She says, "The way people manage their lifestyles can also determine whether they are absent often or not.
“For example, if someone is unhappy with their job but don’t make changes or do anything about it then they will simply stay off work and may even get physically ill because they are fundamentally unhappy. Also, if women don’t have a proper support system in place for their young children, they then have be at home with their children if needed.
"If an employee complains month after month about an ailment but never seeks medical care then physically and psychologically the ailment festers and they stay off work. The same applies if they are prescribed a diet, medication, stretching exercises for a sore neck and don’t follow this diligently.
“Then there is the arena of psychological wellbeing, where people may have marital problems; problems with abusive relationships; and then still the vast and often unidentified area of substance abuse.
“If a company manages their leave schedules correctly then everyone is alerted to a problem that might otherwise have gone on forever,” she notes.
Johnson adds, “What companies should be doing is focusing on the percentage of staff who are not taking any sick leave at all and aiming to make that as high as possible. Absenteeism statistics that point out illness issues in employees or per department/manager for instance, and also supply benchmarks with regards to industry norms, make understanding and managing these figures a simple process. Once the figures are known, wellness and employee management is much easier and more effective.
"If companies follow their absenteeism statistics carefully and make sure that issues are resolved quickly, and with compassion, they will find that they are employing positive, healthy staff who don’t need to take sick leave because they like being at work, and thanks to their positive mindsets, they are also most likely going to get sick at lot less than employees with consistent negative mindsets.”
To view this and other articles, log onto our website at www.camsolutions.co.za. For a online demonstration of our ABSOLV software, log onto www.absolv.co.za.
