19th January 2009 A very ‘Blue Monday’

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Last year absence increased by 22% as employees phoned in sick on Blue Monday, today even more are expected to stay under the duvet.

Blue Monday is the culmination of a series of combined depressive events including the Christmas glow fading, New Year’s resolutions being broken, cold winter weather, credit card bills and the January pay day still being some time away.

Aaron Ross, Chief Executive at FirstCare, explains, “We expect to see the seasonal peak in absence on Blue Monday and it couldn’t come at a worse time for employers, many of whom are just seeing absence levels return to normal after an exceptionally high start to the year.”

On Monday 5^th January 2009 FirstCare saw 8.3% of employees phone in sick, most of whom were suffering from coughs/colds and flu like symptoms.

“Coughs, colds and flu are often a pre-cursor to stress and depression. It is no coincidence that as the economic climate deteriorates we continue to see people show the symptoms of general fatigue and anxiety.

“We have staffed up our call centre to cope with the influx of calls expected today and will be monitoring the situation throughout the day to ensure we have enough nurses to help all those phoning in sick,” says Ross.

Amy Brown, a senior nurse at FirstCare, has noticed that employees are struggling to balance their recovery with the need to be seen in the workplace. She says, “We are seeing a real increase in the number of employees who are closing their absences too early, going back to work and then calling us back a couple of days later in a much worse condition returning to their sickbeds.

“Unwell employees need to prioritise on getting better rather than getting back to work, however in the current economic climate there is real concern around job security and some people are compromising their recovery by returning to the workplace prematurely.”

‘Stress’ is going to be a running theme throughout 2009

Brown goes on to say, “Last year most of the absences contributing to Blue Monday were related to headaches/migraines and stomach aches; this year we expect a greater number of stress related absences which are already becoming a theme in 2009.

“We have seen the number of stress/anxiety related absences increase month on month and for many employees there is currently no light at the end of the tunnel,” says Brown.

“The best thing employers can do is improve communication with employees, particularly around job security. Simple measures such as ensuring employees take regular breaks can really improve the working day. Now is a time for considering well being initiatives which will help employees stay healthy at work,” Ross concludes.

FirstCare works in partnership with large employers in private and public sector organisations to reduce absence. Employees of client organisations phone FirstCare nurses whenever they are absent from work. Working with clients that together have over 160,000 employees throughout the UK, FirstCare is able to map real-time trends as they occur.