Counting the Cost of Workplace Sickness

An important report into workplace sickness is a goldmine for Business teachers looking for some great examples of issues in people management.

How ironic that, on the day I struggled into the tutor2u office suffering from Man Flu, Dame Carol Black should publish her review of the health of Britain’s working age population.

I could have stayed at home in bed, of course. But someone has to make the tea, motivate the girls and drive the strategy forward - so I bravely worked on

However, many people of working age don’t spend as much time at work as they might.

Dame Carol Black reports that ill-health is costing the UK economy £100bn a year.

Her report, commissioned by ministers, calls for a new fit-note system as well as fit for work schemes embedded in the NHS to help people back to work.

It is well worth looking through the press coverage of the report, and perhaps also dipping into the official report website.

Key people management issues covered by the report & debate include:

- Employee productivity
- Fixed costs of sickness absence for businesses
- Motivation at work
- Flexible working practices
- Workplace incentives (financial & non-financial)

Measuring the competitiveness of a business [18 May 2012]
Revision Presentation - Operations and Technology [17 May 2012]
Revision Presentation - Training [17 May 2012]
Revision Presentation - Making Operational Decisions [17 May 2012]
BUSS2 Magic Formula [15 May 2012]
Predictions of a dramatic change in the way goods are produced - and how it may change business [25 Apr 2012]
The Downsides of Downsizing - Does Retrenchment Work? [4 Apr 2012]
Video resource: Do bonuses work as an incentive for better performance? [10 Feb 2012]
Happiness in the workplace still proving elusive [6 Feb 2012]
Leadership - Tough decisions to turn Starbucks around [29 Jan 2012]
Leadership - what qualities does an effective leader and manager have? [29 Jan 2012]
Strategy Lessons from the Tesco Downfall [15 Jan 2012]
Revision Presentation - Operational Objectives [3 Jan 2012]
Revision Presentation - Economies of Scale & Resource Mix [3 Jan 2012]
Why is productivity rising in the US? [1 Jan 2012]
Unemployment and motivation [28 Dec 2011]
Ho! Ho! Ho?  No No No! Motivation and the Xmas Party [4 Dec 2011]
The Simpsons and Financial Motivation [11 Oct 2011]
De-layering: do firms need middle managers? [5 Oct 2011]
Nurofen Plus and the importance of quality - [28 Aug 2011]
Automation and the arrival of 290,000 robots [2 Aug 2011]
Motivation in a time of austerity - financial benefits become more important [27 Jul 2011]
New study shows CSR pays dividends [11 Jul 2011]
CSR - Can better social responsibility boost the UK economy by £17bn? [12 May 2011]
Lesson Worksheet - Capacity Utilisation [5 May 2011]
Life in the chocolate factory - automation, productivity, motivation and culture [24 Apr 2011]
Partners in profit - the JLP way [10 Mar 2011]
8 minutes of Daniel Pink on What Motivates Workers [7 Mar 2011]
Nestle - using branding & productivity to overcome commodity price increases [17 Feb 2011]
Q&A - What is absenteeism and what can businesses do about it? [28 Dec 2010]
Q&A - Explain what is meant by labour productivity and how it can be measured? [28 Dec 2010]
Starbucks - Two Examples of Financial and Non-Financial Methods of Motivation [19 Dec 2010]
Bruce Poon Tip exploits a huge Gap in the adventure market [12 Dec 2010]
A great example of off-the-job-training - Starbucks Coffee College [16 Oct 2010]
Rationalising & Redeployment at Alliance Boots [9 Oct 2010]
Maltesers and Motivation [8 Oct 2010]
Recession Strategy - Manufacturing Emerges Leaner and Fitter [25 Aug 2010]
Can performance-related pay motivate the SCD celebs? [18 Jul 2010]
Is this the worst job in the world? [15 Jul 2010]
Emerging Stronger - How UK Businesses Responded to the Recession [14 Jun 2010]
Are fringe benefits being cut? [5 Jun 2010]
Linking corporate objectives to management performance - the Vodafone way [4 Jun 2010]
Managing People - Will Staff Turnover Increase as the UK Emerges from the Recession [2 Jun 2010]
Recession Strategy - For Airlines it is all about Unit Costs [2 Jun 2010]
Flexible Working More Popular than Bonuses as a Source of Staff Motivation [2 Jun 2010]
The Dark Side of the iPad and iPhone? [26 May 2010]
Build a Tower - Build a Team [22 Apr 2010]
Motivation, Leadership & Culture: Ban the Boss (BBC) [24 Mar 2010]
Motivation and management at John Lewis [11 Mar 2010]
BUSS4 Research - a Corus of Disapproval [1 Mar 2010]
Strategy in the UK Recession - What 69 UK CEOs Did About It [22 Feb 2010]
Money as a motivator in social work? [20 Feb 2010]
Strategies for the Recession - Insights from Six Restaurant Group CEOs [19 Feb 2010]
Is the cost-conscious UK consumer here to stay? [16 Feb 2010]
Amazing Production Video [15 Feb 2010]
Measuring labour productivity - Google revenue per employee [29 Jan 2010]
Video case study - New Balance quality in a successful UK factory [28 Jan 2010]
Revision presentation - labour productivity [17 Jan 2010]
Revision presentation - motivation in theory [17 Jan 2010]
Revision presentation - motivation in practice [17 Jan 2010]
Revision Presentation - Capacity Management [19 Dec 2009]
Teaching Motivation - Classic Video(s) [17 Dec 2009]
Starter Video Clip for Motivation [17 Nov 2009]
The UK: A nation of accidental managers [10 Nov 2009]
“Promoting mental wellbeing at work” - superb resource materials [5 Nov 2009]
Q&A - What is Leadership? [30 Oct 2009]
Leadership styles in action - Dead Poets Society [28 Oct 2009]
Motivation in action - the stairs theory [12 Oct 2009]
Forget motivation theory - lets try to demotivate people [5 Oct 2009]
Motivation in practice - how not to do it - lessons from Britain’s bosses [1 Sep 2009]
Work For Free?  Or Pie In The Sky? [16 Jun 2009]
Q&A - Explain “delayering” [1 Jun 2009]
Motivating employees - the end of the mobile phone sales shark? [17 May 2009]
Motivation in Action - Is this the Worlds Best Job? [7 May 2009]
Q&A - What is commission and when should it be used in a pay package? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is job enlargement? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - Explain Taylor’s theories of motivation at work [1 May 2009]
Q&A - How does a business benefit from having a well-motivated workforce? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is motivation? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is repeat business and why is it important? [1 May 2009]
How can the same product be cheaper to buy new than second-hand? [16 Apr 2009]
Viability of wind farms poses a “sources of finance” challenge [9 Apr 2009]
Q&A - What is meant by repeat business and why is it important? [1 Mar 2009]
How the car makers responded to the downturn [17 Feb 2009]
Video case study - Google’s Non-Financial Methods of Motivation [6 Feb 2009]
Linking customer service and motivation theory [2 Feb 2009]
Video case study - starting a business in a recession [24 Jan 2009]
Highest Productivity in the Industry - But Still Crippled by the Crunch [8 Jan 2009]
The Corporate Jet Under Pressure [4 Jan 2009]
Valuing Apprentices [29 Dec 2008]
Arsene Wenger reveals the secrets of successful teamwork [24 Sep 2008]
Huge losses force Taylor Wimpey into drastic promotional activity [6 Sep 2008]
Job losses become a core part of business strategy [27 Jul 2008]
Is training the key to survival in a downturn? [13 Jul 2008]
Capacity utilisation in focus as the credit crunch tightens [16 Mar 2008]
John Lewis staff bag a bumper bonus [7 Mar 2008]
21p extra on the National Minimum Wage [5 Mar 2008]
Team spirit, innovation and business success [9 Feb 2008]
Lego’s Renaissance [27 Jan 2008]

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