According to Mensura, it is not a matter of not wanting to, but most companies lack the knowledge. One in five does not know how to develop such a policy. “A work regulation and a ‘car policy’ are obvious for most companies in our country. A collective reintegration policy is clearly not yet”, according to Mensura in a press release.
An action plan has been mandatory for two years, but many companies find the rules too complicated. “Many companies do their best and take numerous separate initiatives. However, the coherence between the well-intentioned actions is lacking, which means they miss their effect. The regulations appear to be too complex and companies have too little knowledge in-house.” According to Mensura, the labour inspectorate has already reprimanded several companies.
Almost two-thirds of business leaders and HR managers indicate that adapted work is possible in their company. In the smallest companies (63%) this is somewhat more difficult than in the larger ones (86%). But employees feel differently about this. Less than half (46%) of the employees surveyed indicate that their company proposes an adapted range of tasks after a longer period of absence. This appears to be particularly difficult to achieve in smaller companies: only a quarter of employees there say that this is possible.
“Work regulations and a ‘car policy’ are obvious for most companies in our country. A collective reintegration policy is clearly not yet.”
Measure
Specialist in prevention and well-being at work
Mensura notes that ideas alone are not enough. “A concrete reintegration involves a lot, and then you are better prepared. The fact that only 7 percent of organizations get their homework done is alarming. Now that we have passed the milestone of half a million long-term sick people, we as a society can no longer afford that.”
Also preventive measures
Mensura also advises companies to not only focus on the reintegration itself, but also on preventive measures and an approach to absenteeism. By paying more attention to this, one also makes one’s company more attractive in the ‘war for talent’, it is said. “Younger generations find well-being at work very important. They choose their future employer based on the extent to which subjects such as work pressure and stress can be discussed easily. If companies want to attract younger employees, they should pay the necessary attention to prevention and absenteeism.”
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Eight out of ten Belgian companies do not have a formal absenteeism policy. This includes, for example, a clear vision on reducing absenteeism, agreements, responsibilities and procedures that employers and employees must follow. Prevention involves making workload and stress a topic of discussion: this is still difficult for four out of ten companies, according to their employees.
“Younger generations find well-being at work very important. They choose their future employer based on the extent to which topics such as work pressure and stress can be discussed easily.”
Measure
Specialist in prevention and well-being at work
The Mensura survey was conducted in May of this year among 571 companies and 1,355 employees. The data was weighted to be representative for Belgium in terms of status, age, gender, language and sector.