By MARCUS STEAD
New figures published by Vale Council reveal that staff absence levels during March this year were higher than at any stage during the pandemic.
Statistics for March show that there were 551 absences and 4,228 days lost, ahead of December 2021’s previous record, when a slightly higher figure of 607 absences were recorded but only 3,925 days were lost.
The March 2022 figure was more than double that of August 2021, when 187 absences led to just 1,787 days being lost.
The published figures provide detailed statistics on the reasons for non-attendance at work during the 2021/22 financial year.
Non-work related stress was the biggest cause of absenteeism among Vale Council staff, accounting for 10,053 lost days across all departments and was the reason given for 24% of absences.
The statistics show that 75.23% of absences for any reason were classed as long-term, meaning they lasted four weeks or more.
The statistics on non-work related stress were particularly alarming among the council’s Social Services department, where it accounted for 33% of total absences, more than double that of second-placed musculoskeletal problems, such as broken bones and joint pain, on 16%.
Non-work related stress was the reason given for 38% of long-term staff absences in Social Services, more than twice the figure for any other cause.
The Learning and Skills department fared little better, where non-work related stress accounted for 31% of total absence and 37% of long-term absence.
The figures for non-work related stress absence were somewhat lower in the Managing Director and Resources department, where it accounted for 22% of total absence and 24% of long-term absence (the previous year it accounted for 41% of long-term absence in the department).
In the Environment and Housing department, the statistics on non-work related stress absences were much lower, accounting for 16% of total absences and 18% of long-term absences.
Overall, work-related stress accounted for 13% of total absence and 17% of long-term absence, but the statistics differed significantly between the departments.
Absence for work-related stress was highest in the department of the Environment and Housing, where it accounted for 20% of total absence and 24% of long-term absence, but in all other departments the percentage range was between 10-18% for both total and long-term absences.
The pandemic was only the sixth-biggest cause of staff absence across all departments, accounting for 8% of short-term absence and 5% of long-term absence.
The number of days lost between October and December 2021 exceeded 3,900 in each of those months, but March’s figure broke the 4,000 barrier for the first time.
🌟 This article first appeared in the printed edition of the Glamorgan Star on 16.06.22
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