Almost a third (30%) of UK line managers do not feel fully confident supporting team members if they were suffering from a long-term health condition such as long Covid or cancer, according to Working To Wellbeing’s Window to the Workplace research.
The research reveals this figure rises to 39% of those aged 55+.
However, when it came to supporting colleagues with their mental and physical health and wellbeing in the workplace, the majority (58%) of all line managers believe their organisation has implemented a strong return-to-work plan for its employees.
A further 27% are unsure and just 15% did not think they had.
The research also found that one third (35%) of line managers did not fully understand the return-to-work process for employees with a long-term health condition.
Encouragingly, seven in ten (71%) line managers said they knew how to make reasonable adjustments to support someone returning to work, a further 21% were unsure and just 9% did not know how.
Older line managers were less confident with 13% of those aged 55+ stating they do not know how to make reasonable adjustments in the return-to-work process.
According to the research, two-thirds of employees (66%) said if they had a long-term health condition, they would feel confident that their line manager would support them well with a return-to-work process.
However this fell to 58% of employees aged 55 or older.
Overall, a further 23% did not know and 11% did not have any confidence in their line manager’s ability to provide support.
Dr Julie Denning, managing director, chartered health psychologist at Working To Wellbeing and chairwoman of the Vocational Rehabilitation Association, (pictured) said: “As the number of people with a long-term health condition in the UK increases, it is imperative that employers take note and best understand how they can manage and support these people in the workplace.
“In our decade-long experience as a back-to-work rehabilitation specialist, the key challenge to address is that many of those affected by a long-term health condition want to either remain in or return to work when ready, and employers – in particular, line managers at the coalface whose role is pivotal to supporting their colleagues at work – need to be equipped and ready to best support their workforce.”