Wholeness Healing Center

Reducing Sick Leave

Do you ever get frustrated with workers who call in sick often?  Do you begin to wonder if they are physically sick or is there something bigger going on in their life with which they are struggling? These are concerns that affect the workplace as a whole, from employees to managers to employers.

In the U.S., the standard worker takes 4.9 days off per year on average. Think about that – if you have 100 employees that could mean an average of 490 days lost each year due to unscheduled absences. (Atkinson, 2014)  Organizations and industries worldwide are faced with the billions of dollars that are lost as a result.

Studies have shown that the two most common reasons for sick leave are stress and anxiety.  (Collis, 2013) Employees who are calling in sick due to stress have tripled from 1996 to 2000. (Lieb, 2015)  Personal illness accounted for only 35% of all unscheduled absences.  That number breaks down to only one out of three employees who have an unscheduled absence due to being physically ill. It stands to reason that companies that support workplace health have healthier employees, both physically and mentally, and are less likely to call in sick or use vacation time due to illness. Those employers then have a greater percentage of employees at work every day which can result in increased productivity, employee morale and the company’s bottom line. (CDC, 2013)

So where can employers turn for help?  At Wholeness Healing Center, our EAP has a lasting impact on the cost of sick leave caused by stress and anxiety. Through education, training, and professional care, our well-BEING program can greatly reduce the cost of sick leave. By helping employees address the challenges of stress and anxiety on their everyday lives, they are more likely to address their problems earlier and resolve them quicker. It is helpful in managing the stress of balancing work and family issues which in turn can decrease sick days.

Employees are able to use their EAP services in two different ways to become healthier and use less sick days. They can use their EAP services with a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Mental Health Practitioner, and/or a Licensed Drug and Alcohol Counselor or an Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist to gain insight and learn skills to deal with the stressors they face at work or home. Or they can use our holistic services such as our Migun Massage Facility or our Energy Enhancement System (EE System) to specifically address those issues and find balance.

Our EAP also provides tools for your management team to help employees become healthier and have less unscheduled absences.  We will train your management team to help them identify the problem and provide the necessary resources they need so they will be able to offer a number to call and a place to go for the employee to get the help they need.

Reducing sick leave is a benefit of providing an Employee Assistance Program for your employees.  If you are interested or see the benefits an EAP can provide for your employees, please call Dawyn Otto, EAP Administrator at 308-382-5297 ext. 127. Or, if you wish for your company to offer an EAP, please share this article with your HR person.

Works Cited

Atkinson, S. (2014, December 30). WWW.timesheet.com. Retrieved 2014, from Time Sheet.

CDC. (2013, October). www.dcd.gov. Retrieved 2013, from Centers for Disease Control and Provention (CDC).

Collis, H. (2013, June 27).www. dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved from Daily Mail.

Fully Effective Employees – EAP’s Help Reduce Absenteeism. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.eap.com.

Lieb, G. (2015, July 31). www.piercepioneer.com. Retrieved from Pioneer News.

Team, E. (2014). www.mindtool.com. Retrieved from MindTools.

Tags: EAP Benefits, reduce absentism in the workplace, sick leave reduction