Organisations

Long-term absence of 20 days or more accounts for 40% of all working time lost and costs UK business over £5.3 billion per year (CBI May 2008). Mental ill-health including stress, anxiety and depression are the most common cause of long-term absence amongst staff. CBT Clinics can offer your organisation:

Absence Management for Employees

Our Return to Work programme is a service for organisations to manage and support absent employees return to health and back to work. The causes of long-term absence are often psychological and emotional, as well as physical, which will have serious financial implications for the organisation and a major impact upon the employee. Without effective support, short-term problems can drift into long term sickness absence from weeks to months. Once an employee has been absent for six weeks, the chances of a return to work decline rapidly, with feelings of isolation, depression and anxiety about returning to work often proving more debilitating than the original reason for absence. After six months of absence, an employee has only a 50% probability of a return to work.

Although it is possible to bring about a return to work after a number of years, it is generally accepted that the earlier the point of intervention, for instance offering support whilst in work or within the first weeks of absence, the better the prognosis for an early recovery. However, psychological assessment and treatment can bring about recovery and a return to work even after prolonged absence.

The important message is that “work is healthy”, numerous studies have demonstrated that a supportive work environment improves physical and emotional health, motivation and productivity.
Through our work with the Armed Forces, Emergency Services and the Government “Pathways to Work” programme, CBT Clinics has developed short-term treatment interventions to enable employees to remain in work and employers to reduce absence. For example:

1. Work related stress is the most common cause of prolonged absence from work. This kind of stress can be effectively treated using evidence-based interventions. Stress management techniques can be taught to both individuals and groups.

2. Anxiety and Depression. These are the most common mental health problems experienced within the general population. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) as the most effective treatment for these problems.

3. Work and road related accidents can lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and anxiety-related phobias. Research confirms that both EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy) and CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) are the treatments of choice for these disorders.

4. Medical problems, such as chronic pain conditions and chronic fatigue syndrome. Whilst these conditions may be difficult to overcome, there is good evidence that these conditions do not need to be a barrier to work. Many people are able to enjoy satisfying working lives following our pain management interventions, learning coping strategies and life planning skills.

5. Avoidance behaviours such as a dysfunctional reluctance to return to work after illness, or attending to normal domestic routines. Psychological intervention may help break the cycle of disability and prevent permanent negative lifestyle changes such as withdrawing into the home environment. Most people describe fear and loss of confidence rather than their physical condition, as the main barriers to work.

Our Return to Work programme has a high success rate. The treatment is most successful when:

• the problems leading to absence from work are accurately assessed
• there is an agreed action plan and treatment goals related to returning to work between employee and employer
• the person is motivated to pursue a return to work and is positive about treatment
• the person identifies with their work role
• the person remains in contact with their workplace and feels supported by their employer
• underlying clinical factors, such as depression, anxiety or agoraphobia are addressed
• attention to relationship in the workplace, such as harassment or grievances are addressed
• the person is motivated to engage in treatment including homework
• support systems inside and outside of work are identified
• effective communication and liaison between HR/line manager, General Practitioner and Occupational Health including reports
• intervention effectiveness is measured at regular intervals

 

Reducing Work Place Stress

Recognising the early warning signs of stress can optimise the mental health of your workforce. Workplace Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (WCBT) interventions provide your managers and employees with an understanding of what stress is, how it affects performance and well-being, and how to spot the early warning signs and respond to it before an employee reaches crisis point and feels they have no other option than to take sick leave.

Whilst some stress can enhance our performance and give us a sense of satisfaction when we succeed, with too little pressure we become bored and disengaged. The key for managers is to be able to identify the individual’s different pressure tolerance levels, with some thriving where others begin to struggle with stress.
CBT Clinics workplace training educates managers to recognise the signs that an employee is close to the limit of their ability to handle pressure and provides them with the knowledge and the skills to intervene early.

CBT Clinics are located throughout the UK More