Factors influencing improved attendance in the UK fire service.

I Litchfield,P Hinckley

doi:10.1093/occmed/kqw156

I Litchfield, P Hinckley

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqw156

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Abstract

BackgroundSickness absence rates in the UK continue to exceed those in much of the developed world, with an annual cost to employers of £29 billion. Rates of sickness absence in the public sector are higher than those in the private sector, with the exception of the fire service where they are consistently lower.AimsTo understand the influences that increase attendance among operational firefighters.MethodsA series of semi-structured interviews undertaken with operational staff to explore their attitudes to sickness absence.ResultsReview and analysis of participant responses identified a number of key themes, namely employee well-being, including physical fitness and mental health; employee engagement with the fire service as manifested by culture, experience, nature of the job and leadership; organizational factors including the staffing model and relationship with occupational health services and policy, which describes both refinements to and implementation of targeted policies.ConclusionsPreviously observed factors such as improved fitness and the distinct firefighter culture play a role, yet other factors emerged that could explain the differences. These include the greater work–life balance offered by their shift patterns, the terms and conditions of employment and perhaps most importantly the evolution of precisely targeted policies that understand the unique nature of the operational fire service.

Highlights

The rates of sickness absence in the UK are of continued concern where workers take an average of 9.1 sick days per year, cost employers around £9 billion in sick pay and employees £4 billion in lost earnings [1]
Review and analysis of participant responses identified a number of key themes namely, employee wellbeing including physical fitness and mental health; employee engagement with the fire service as manifested by culture, experience, nature of the job, and leadership; organizational factors including the staffing model and relationship with occupational health services; and policy which describes both refinements to and implementation of targeted policies
Previously observed factors such as improved fitness and the distinct fire fighter culture play a role yet other factors emerged that could explain the differences. These include the greater work balance offered by their shift patterns, the terms and conditions of employment, and perhaps most importantly the evolution of precisely targeted policies that understand the unique nature of the operational fire service

Summary

Introduction

The rates of sickness absence in the UK are of continued concern where workers take an average of 9.1 sick days per year, cost employers around £9 billion in sick pay and employees £4 billion in lost earnings [1]. Previous work has attempted to identify the influences at both individual [2], and organizational level [3], and a number of approaches have tried to reduce sickness absence [4]. Despite these attempts the rate of sickness absence in the UK continues to be amongst the highest in the developed world within the public sector [1]. The fire service is one public organisation where rates of sickness absence more closely resemble those of the private sector [6]. Rates of sickness absence in the public sector are higher than those in the private sector, with the exception of the Fire Service where they are consistently lower

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