Employees off work due to temporary workplace disability could be reduced by one million across the EU through early intervention techniques, according to a Work Foundation report.
The report, Reducing Temporary Work Absence Through Early Intervention: The case of MSDs in the EU, found that employee absence could be reduced by over a third (39%) across the EU if employees were referred to early intervention services successfully.
More than 60,000 individuals could be returned to work in the UK alone using the intervention techniques, according to the report.
The Work Foundation used data from a study conducted in a hospital in Madrid over a two-year period. The hospital accepted patients referred after five days of absence from work in addition to conventional clinical interventions for people with musculoskeletal disorders and patient education programmes.
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) were found to cause almost half of all absences from work lasting three days or longer. Over 40m EU workers cite that MSDs are caused by their work, with the disorders causing 60% of all permanent work incapacity.
The problem of returning employees to work was compounded further, with figures revealing up to 30% of people with MSDs also had depression.
The Work Foundation highlighted the importance of early intervention for MSDs, noting that it provided access to better treatment, reduced the risk of developing co-morbid conditions, helped individuals to stay in or return to work and aided a return to the activities of daily living.
However, the report added there were several barriers to this, particularly among people of working age.
The main obstacles identified by the report were:
- Primary care: Often treatments or therapies which may help an individual stay in or return to work may not be prescribed early enough by GPs
- Secondary care: Work ability is often a second-order priority by GPs who do not regard work as a clinical outcome
- Health Technology Appraisal (HTA): In some countries only the direct clinical benefits and costs are examined, but not the labour market impact. This makes the funding of early clinical interventions less likely
- Employer behaviour: Employers' failure to refer employees early to an occupational health specialist can extend the time that they are away from work through sickness absence, increasing their risk of leaving work permanently
Good features of early intervention included early diagnosis, appropriate referral to a healthcare professional, workplace adjustments and employee self-management.
The report concluded: "As economies across the EU emerge tentatively from the depths of recession, they will need a skilled, motivated and healthy workforce to help them regain previous levels of productivity and competitiveness.
"Improving access to early interventions for those people of working-age with long-term or chronic health conditions could play a significant part in keeping the EU workforce healthy and active."
