London, United Kingdom, February 8th 2023. Cezanne HR, the UK’s leading provider of modern, flexible HR systems for UK & global businesses, and respected HR publication Personnel Today, are proud to announce the release of their latest joint research paper: Managing Sickness in the Hybrid Workplace.
Only 30% of employers say their absence policies reflect their new working practices
The survey of more than 200 HR professionals found that, surprisingly, only 30% of organisations have updated their absence policies to reflect new ways of working – such as remote and flexible working, with only a further 26% planning to adjust them. This means that nearly half of employers have no plans to ensure their absence policies reflect new working arrangements.
In addition, our joint survey also discovered that:
- 55% of line managers are not enforcing company absence procedures
- Only 42% of HR professionals say they have KPIs or other business metrics they use to actively track absences
- 87% of HR professionals believe employees take ‘sickies’
- 79% of HR professionals working with hybrid and remote workers don’t have any visibility when staff are off sick.
Paul Bauer, Head of Content at Cezanne HR, said: “With finances squeezed and labour markets becoming tighter, organisations will be looking to operate as efficiently as possible. However, our survey has revealed there are numerous issues preventing HR teams from successfully managing unplanned, short-term absences – especially when it comes to remote and flexibly-working employees.”
“Although businesses can’t control if and when their staff become ill, our survey has shown that organisations must put in place effective strategies and procedures to help them cope with rising levels of sick leave. Luckily, the findings in this report will help them do exactly that.”
You can download the full report and actionable insights by following this link.