of the main causes being long term sickness due to

mental health problems.

According to the recently published Absence Management Survey 2011 produced by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), stress is now the leading cause of long term absence from work. Of the 600 companies surveyed, 40% reported an increase in stress related absence in the preceeding year, that figure rising to 50% in the public sector. This increase has been reported across job types, income levels and industry sectors,  it has even overtaken musculo-skeletal problems as a cause of absence among manual workers.

Factors related to the current economic climate feature prominently in the reasons for given for the increase in stress and include:

• Uncertainty created by restructuring and organisational change
• Increased workloads
• Fears about job security
• Disruption to the work life balance
• Financial stress

The cost to business of stress related absence is enormous and has risen to a median of £445 per employee per annum in the private sector, £743 in the not-for-profit sector and a huge £800 per annum in the public sector. These figures do not account for the costs incurred by the loss of productivity by those staff who have not taken leave, or even reported stress related issues, but who are nontheless being adversely affected by stress.

Even in these times of cuts and budget constraints, the message from the CIPD is clear, cutting wellbeing services and failing to address the causes of stress in the workplace is financially counterproductive. All companies should be ensuring that they have properly designed and implemented stress reduction and management strategies to cut absenteeism and increase productivity.

Rebecca Haisma  provides preventative health education and wellbeing solutions to business. Drawing on a range of treatment methods She is able to tailor make programs and interventions for your business designed to cut absenteeism, improve staff retention and increase productivity.

 She works with business in three main ways:

• To design and deliver preventative health programs to your staff, targeting issues such as stress management, depression, anxiety, smoking, obesity and alcohol dependency.
• To work one on one with staff members, from frontline staff to senior executives, either at your premises or at her central Bath clinic to address their individual problems using a time limited, solution focused approach.
•  To work with managers to provide them with the tools to manage employee stress, work effectively in times of change, and enhance staff productivity and morale in their departments. She can also offer an advisory service for policy makers.

For more information on any or our courses for business or to book any of our services at your organisation, visit www.rebeccahaisma.com, call us on 01225 316670 or email us on mail@centreforintegratedtherapies.com.