Musculoskeletal (MSDs) conditions accounted for 31 million sick days in 2013. This was followed by minor illness, such as colds (27 million), and mental illness, such as stress, anxiety and depression (15 million).
The number of annual sick days lost in the UK has fallen in the past 20 years, although the decrease has levelled off since 2011. The total stands at 131 million, compared to 178 million in 1993.
A serious problem
Northampton Water won Business in the Community's 2012 Workwell Award for their efforts to combat the issue. Group HR director Sarah Salter said the company takes a holistic approach to the treatment/employment life cycle.
"Our people have access to physio-psycho-social support," she said. "This recognises that while MSD issues can be triggered in any strand of an employee’s life, if we can help them return to health there is an amplified benefit in terms of their contribution and commitment at work."
Karen Steadman, head of health and wellbeing programmes at The Work Foundation, emphasised the importance of dealing with MSDs quickly.
"Evidence-based research, conducted through the Fit for Work Europe initiative, has shown that both temporary and permanent sickness absence related to MSDs can be reduced by 39% and respectively 50%. This is provided that workers receive an intervention early enough," she said.
Steadman also picked out the increasing number of days lost through mental health issues – the figure has risen by about 2 million days since 2011.
"It may to some extent reflect reductions in stigma and better awareness of mental health conditions. However, it emphasises the need for better approaches to managing mental health conditions in the workplace, particularly through training, education and access to support," she said.
Sickness by gender
The figures also found that men had a lower absence rate than women, losing 1.6% of their hours to sickness in 2013, compared with 2.6% among women.
Those working in the caring, leisure and other service occupations lost the highest percentage of hours to sickness in 2013 at 3.2%. The ONS said this group is dominated by women, who are more likely to be off sick than men.
In terms of rank, the lowest percentage of hours lost to sickness was for managers, directors and senior officials at 1.3% in 2013.
Further reading: ONS Sickness Absence in the Labour Market, February 2014
