The costs of ill health in Sweden have increased dramatically and now amount to 350 billion SEK – every year. To reverse this negative trend, decision-makers in the country need a new mindset. Health-promoting initiatives must be given higher priority.
At Sweden’s 100 largest companies, the cost of ill health averages 50,000 SEK per employee per year. A cost that has increased by 8 billion in just the last two years. Despite this, most companies lack a plan for how ill health can be addressed.
As an employer, you are responsible for:
• Creating a good work environment
• Having routines for systematic work environment management
• Having an organization for work adjustment and rehabilitation
• Preventing ill health and accidents at work
So how do you create healthy workplaces? The research project “Health and Future” has identified four important factors for preventing sickness absence.
The workplace’s view of health and sickness absence The most important efforts always take place before an employee is signed off sick. It is crucial to genuinely prioritize these issues throughout the organization in order to prevent sickness absence and to identify employees who are at risk of becoming sick-listed in the future. Both preventive and reactive measures are needed, but the key is that they are implemented at an early stage. At Wellr, we believe it is important to create awareness of the health status within the organization at both individual and company level. Only then can real change be achieved.
Participation Studies show that participation increases, among other things, engagement and job satisfaction. It is crucial for employees to feel they have influence and the ability to affect their situation in order to thrive. Employees who feel involved have more control over their own situation and can therefore often handle the demands placed on them in a better way.
Leadership This is absolutely crucial for how people feel at a workplace. Supportive and trust-based leadership reduces stress while increasing efficiency. Workplaces with low sickness absence have leaders who do not only look at the financial statements, but also care about how groups and individuals function at work. Wellr’s survey of the organizational and social work environment is an effective way to gain insight into how leadership works at your workplace.
