Sickness absence among bus and rail workers has increased 42% since 2019, mainly driven by rising mental health-related absence.
According to absence management and wellbeing insight company GoodShape, bus and train workers took an estimated 52.3 million days off work for illness between January 2019 and June 2022, costing the sectors an estimated £7.7bn in sick pay and lost productivity.
It found that bus and rail companies’ absence costs, not including admin or fees for temporary workers, had surged 18% since 2019, mainly due to an increase in mental health-related time off.
In the first half of 2022 there were 38% more instances of mental health-related absence than the same period three years ago.
GoodShape CEO Alun Baker said transport workers were “weary” after the pandemic, but noted that poor mental health is an issue that has persisted in the sector for many years. The suicide rate in the rail industry is 1.6 times higher than any other sector, GoodShape claimed.
Sickness absence in transport
How to minimise employee sickness absence this autumn
Three in 10 say physical health has worsened during pandemic
“Poor mental health is a historic problem for the industry,” said Baker. “The service’s frontline experience during the pandemic coupled with the cost of living crisis are pushing workers to their limit. It’s important that employers hear and understand these issues, so they can drive measurable, positive change for their people, over and above the issue of pay.”
However, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) continued to be the most common cause of sickness absence in transport.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Between January 2019 and June 2022, 6.5 million working days were lost for musculoskeletal problems, costing employers an estimated £946m. However, the statistics suggested the rate of absence for MSDs has improved: between January and June 2022, 784,000 working days were lost.
The statistics were drawn from GoodShape’s database of workplace absences. The transport statistics covered more than 7,300 workers at bus and rail operators.
