If you read nothing else, read this…
- Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and back pain are among the main causes of short- and long-term absences in the UK.
- Ergonomic assessments and physiotherapy services can help identify and treat MSDs.
- Physical activities, such as walking clubs and yoga classes, can help prevent the onset of MSDs.
While an MSD has a debilitating effect on an employee and their working life, it can also have a large impact on the workplace. For employers, dealing with employees with MSDs can be complex. They need to look at both preventative measures and effective treatment, as well as the direct and indirect costs involved in supporting an employee. These can include loss of productivity, sick pay and the cost of covering the employee’s duties.
An ageing workforce also presents a challenge to employers, as this employee group is typically more at risk of developing MSDs. Mark Fletcher, clinical director at Physio Med, says: “A lot of the people engaging in our service are from the 40-60 age bracket. People are working harder, more intensely, and they’re getting older.”
But MSDs can include a range of symptoms and conditions, and can affect any employee, regardless of their type of work or role in an organisation. Back, neck and joint problems are common across all service sectors. The pain, limited movement or stiffness that an MSD causes can have a huge impact on an employee’s function or activity.
Employee absence costs
To help counterbalance the cost impact of an employee with an MSD, an employer can first explore preventative, cost-effective measures. Fletcher recommends that employers look at the ergonomics and the working environment: “[Employers] can look at individual roles, and [carry out] job task analysis to see if they can make it more efficient. [They] can do functional assessments of the individual, or physiotherapy assessments of certain body parts.”
The legally required ergonomic assessment is a key starting point, says Beate O’Neil, head of Punter Southall Health and Protection Consulting’s (PSHPC’s) wellness division. This will provide employers with information about any areas that need to be addressed, either with the physical workspace or an employee’s wellbeing.
Another action point can be for an employer to look at its benefits spend and how spending wisely in one area can have an impact on another, for example if it is able to integrate physical activity programmes and schemes to bring about savings. Jan Vickery, head of musculoskeletal health at Axa PPP Healthcare, says: “Encouraging good musculoskeletal health will mean that people can lead better lifestyles, can exercise and are less likely to claim on private medical insurance (PMI).”
Added extras
Employers can tap into any extras offered by healthcare benefit providers, such as lunch-and-learn sessions on subjects such as postural advice or back care. “They reinforce to employees what they need to do to look after their backs, for example take breaks or don’t sit in one position for too long,” says O’Neil.
Creating and promoting physical activity groups in the workplace can also aid MSD support without increasing budgets. Walking groups, lunchtime yoga or pilates sessions, or information on the intranet and newsletters, can keep physical activity at the front of employees’ minds. “Physical wellness is important to staying fit and healthy; things such as pilates or a gym class in lunch breaks help ensure flexibility,” says O’Neil. “If an employer offers discounted gym membership, it can promote those classes.”
As with any benefits spend, a return on investment is vital to ensuring it will be a long-stay measure in the workplace. A link to a sure return is vital for a programme to be sustainable, says Vickery. “If we show the return on investment [of a programme], it may have an impact on measuring them, not always in terms of cost, but how it has changed behaviour, or has it engaged employees more, for example.”
Ensuring employees with MSDs get the right support is just as crucial as implementing preventative measures and keeping them fit and well on their return to work.
Case study: John Lewis Partnership helps staff improve physical wellness
With around 90,000 employees, many of whom carry out physical tasks during their working day, the John Lewis Partnership has always provided physiotherapy services for staff.
Two years ago, it changed its approach to physio provision as part of a consolidation of its health services. As with many employers, the partnership, which consists of John Lewis and Waitrose, noted that musculoskeletal disorders were one of the largest causes of absence among staff. Working with Physio Med, it has been able to distinguish between different types of injury, specifically lower-back issues, which are the most common injury type.
The partnership changed its approach and process to enable staff to get help quicker. After an initial triage and over a 10-day cycle, employees have reported results such as the pain disappearing and increased mobility and productivity levels.
Nick Davison, head of partnership health services at John Lewis Partnership, says: “Being able to give help and support much quicker, and find a resolution to fitness much quicker, means [employees] are able to get back to full productivity quicker as well.”
The retailer also provides podiatry for staff, which includes a screening programme that assesses an employee’s gait and how they stand, and advises on orthotics or foot care to help avoid the onset of future lower back, hip or knee issues. “We’ve tens of thousands of [employees] that stand up every day in our shops, so it’s a really important thing for us,” says Davison.
Viewpoint
Professor Sayeed Khan: Musculoskeletal disorders need to be a high priority
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and back problems have once again been ranked as the most common cause of long-term sickness absence by almost two-fifths of employers in the latest annual sickness absence survey by EEF and Jelf Employee Benefits, published in June 2015. This has escalated sharply in the last year, having been ranked the most common cause by a fifth of employers last year.
MSDs can take the form of any condition with pain from the neck downwards, through the back, hip and knee to the ankle. Ranging from slight to serious, there can be considerable impact on an employee’s ability to perform and they often require workplace adjustments and modification.
In contrast to common perception, the conditions are also not limited to those engaged in manual work but can be as prevalent in management or those in occupations perceived as less physical. For example, someone who has severe back pain is as likely to be affected working in a design or research facility sitting at a PC all day as they are engaged in more physical roles on the shop floor. This is the reason why treating MSDs should be a high priority for employers, in essence because the effects can be felt right across the employee spectrum and impact on all areas of an organisation.
EEF’s survey showed that while a third of organisations reported it as the most difficult cause of absence to make adjustments for, this was a sharp rise of 10% compared with last year, illustrating that the problem is growing.
However, employers can deal with MSDs in a cost-effective manner for a relatively small investment. For example, employing a good occupational health professional, who is able to make risk assessments in the workplace and suggest modifying tasks, is easily able to provide a return on the investment in them compared with having to provide high levels of long-term sick pay.
Professor Sayeed Khan is chief medical officer at EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation
