Job redesign has strongest correlation to sick leave: Survey
Nearly half (46 per cent) of employees have taken time off work or noticed other employees taking more time off work after organizational changes, according to a survey by Morneau Shepell.
Two-thirds of respondents have experienced at least one workplace change with their current employer: team restructuring (39 per cent), downsizing or layoffs (35 per cent), job redesign (35 per cent), redesign of the physical office space (29 per cent) and mergers (15 per cent).
Of those workers who went through a change, 43 per cent said it had a negative impact on their perception of the company, 40 per cent said it negatively affected their health, and 30 per cent said it impacted their job performance, found the survey of 1,018 Canadians.
“Among the types of organizational changes, job redesign has the strongest correlation to sick leave for both physical and mental health,” said Alan Torrie, president and CEO of Morneau Shepell. “This type of change sometimes gets less focus than things like mergers but it is clearly important to the day-to-day experience of employees.”
Organizational change is more likely to increase over time, he said.
“With technology advances, new business models and global economic forces, change is the new normal… It is important for organizations to understand the impact on people and consider the best way to support their workforce through ongoing change.”
