Ravalier PhD Theis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

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increase of £73 per employee from 2010. However, these figures disguise quite considerable differences between
types of organisation. For example, while the median cost to private organisations is £446 per person per year it is
much greater to public-sector organisations at £800 per employee. It is also of note that the median value is
reported by the CIPD because different organisations utilise different methods of cost analysis, and only
approximately 43% of all organisations complete a 'days lost' cost analysis per employee.
Figure 8: year-by-year comparison of percentage of working days lost throughout the whole of the organisation with respect to illness.
As examined throughout Section 1a-1c of Chapter III, chronic workplace stress has the potential to
negatively impact upon individual employees, leading to negative psychological, behaviour and emotional
outcomes for the individual. These problems can therefore lead to a number of working days lost should the
chronic stressor lead to negative individual outcomes. Figure 8 depicts the percentage number of days lost within
the whole of the participating organisation over a five-year period up until the year-end of 2010. Musculo-skeletal
problems, which are often linked with workplace stress (see Chapter II, Section 1b.1.3) are consistently among
the highest reasons reported for sickness absence within the working population over the five years. Along these
lines mental health problems, including stress and depression, are consistently high, with only a small dip in the
percentage throughout 2008/2009. It can be assumed therefore that mental health issues are among the most
pressing issues for employers, costing money and organisational effectiveness.
Table 3 Top 5 causes of long-term sickness absence in participating organisation.
Long-Term
Reasons
2010-
2011
(%) 2009-
2010
(%
)