The aim of all companies is to increase productivity and reduce costs. Working hours lost because of illnesses and accidents do not fit into this equation.
Furthermore, the competition over skilled employees has made employers think about how they are viewed by job seekers. Companies that look after their personnel have better chances of keeping their current personnel and attracting new, skilled employees thanks to their positive image.
Goals of the Työ kuntoon model
As its name implies, the purpose of the Työ kuntoon (fitness for work) model is to help employees recover their fitness for work as well as improving their working conditions. Controlling sickness-related absences is impossible unless the employee and their illnesses and remaining opportunities available to them are reviewed in the same context as the work environment and its stress factors and possible areas of development.
Another equally important goal of the Työ kuntoon model is to involve the representatives of different groups of personnel in the model as early as possible. By doing so, all parties have an opportunity to define the model at an early stage, and there is no need to try and convince the employees of the advantages of a ready-made model.
Työ kuntoon model sick leave monitoring
The Työ kuntoon model should specify
- the policy for submitting information about sick leave
- the processing of sick leave certificates
- contact policies in cases of prolonged sick leave
- the content of the return-to-work discussion held between a supervisor and the employee returning from a sick leave
Mehiläinen is responsible for arranging extensive monitoring of sick leaves, contacting employees on sick leave and active contacts with supervisors if the sick leave can be avoided by arranging alternative tasks or other alternatives for a sick leave. The occupational health physician and occupational health nurse of the occupational health team, in particular, are responsible for establishing the Työ kuntoon model locally.
Results and tools
The Työ kuntoon model can be used to decrease the sick-leave percentage, particularly at workplaces where the percentage is higher than the average. The benefits for the individual worker include faster rehabilitation, prevention of displacement from work, and development of the work to improve performance. Furthermore, supervisors are more prepared and equipped to handle difficult situations in a constructive manner and in a way that improves the atmosphere of the work community.
The effectiveness of the Työ kuntoon model can be increased by Mehiläinen’s Tule kuntoon and Mieli kuntoon models depending on the work environment’s most significant cause for incapacity for work.