Dublin Counsellor Blog

Employee Absenteeism Dublin

staff turnover dublin

Employee absenteeism in Dublin and Ireland costs small business €2million per day, according to Small Firms Association (SFA) executive Alan Sherlock.

Four million working days are lost in Ireland per year, costing business €490million annually.

The SFA Absenteeism Report 2014 shows the biggest causes of workplace absenteeism is back pain, anxiety/depression and stress.

Back pain accounts for 14.2% of employee absenteeism, anxiety and depression accounts for 13% of absences, and stress nearly 7.5%. On top of this, ‘nervous debility’, or anxiety in another form, and bereavement causes another 3.6% of absence.

Sick notes

“Back pain/injury and anxiety/depression are the most commonly cited reasons for absence on medical certs”, stated Mr Sherlock.

And, with regard to costs, Mr Sherlock adds: “When you include additional direct costs, such as replacing staff, paying overtime and medical referrals, and indirect costs, such as loss of productivity and the time spent managing absence, the overall cost is close to €1 billion.”

My view

The main stressors are all mental health based, including back pain, which in my view, is stress and anxiety somatised. That is, the emotional strain is registering in the body. When stress and anxiety is sustained over too long a period, the body absorbs what the mind can’t process and, traditionally, it registers in the back. This truth is even in our language, when we talk about ‘back breaking work’ or ‘I broke the back of that problem’.

Workplace absenteeism, in my view, can also be from unresolved conflict within the organisation. If employees feel disillusioned or defeated, they can ‘act out’ their defiance by their absence which, in the end, is an attack on the company.

Employee absenteeism Dublin

Psychotherapy/Counselling deployed in your company is an ideal way to address these underlying issues, freeing up employees to be more present and motivated at work.

Employees recognise this as 76% of Dublin workers feel there is a need for counselling in the workplace. (Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, IACP, survey 2013)

Counselling Service

Either on site or externally, I can provide cost effective counselling to both staff and management in the Dublin area.

For a wider description of the psychological services I can offer your workplace, please see:

Corporate Counselling

Or call me today to see how psychotherapy/counselling can work for your business.