Health problems not admitted to bosses

It has been revealed that only 4 per cent of employees would talk to their boss about health concerns. New research from Aviva UK Health has also found that only 5 per cent would confide their problems to a colleague, and only 1 per cent would inform their HR department about personal health issues. On the other hand, the ‘Health of the Workplace’ study also showed that 60 per cent of employees would confide in their partner, while a third would inform the family doctor.

While the reasons for not informing your manager about a health problem centre around privacy, the study found that 21 per cent of employees believe that admitting to health issues could negatively affect their work prospects and 11 per cent said they just did not trust their boss.

By comparison, 34 per cent of employers said they made a point of identifying any employee issues and 42 per cent say they have an open door policy for such problems.

The figures highlight the problem of health in the workplace. Initiatives such as private health insurance, group income protection and confidential helplines may look good on paper, but they don’t seem to be effective in persuading staff to admit to health concerns.

Doug Wright, principal clinical consultant at Aviva UK Health, pointed out The breakdown in communication between employers and their staff means that health risks such as stress in the workplace are not being effectively managed. Lack of employee engagement will also hinder an employer’s ability to intervene early and offer their employees the right support at the right time.