​Earlier this year Huffington Post South Africa reported that one in four South African employees suffer from mental health concerns and take more than 18 days off work. This results in a cost of more than R232 billion annually due to a loss of productivity.

In the article, psychiatrist Dr. Renata Schoeman informed the news hub that more than 40% of all work-related illness is due to major depression, anxiety disorders, burnout, and work-related stress. "Undiagnosed and untreated mental health conditions directly impact a workplace through increased absenteeism and presenteeism," Schoeman explained.

Absenteeism arises for many reasons. Even the best-managed company can't control it. Occasional absences from work are inevitable – people get sick or injured, have to take care of sick children, or need time during business hours to handle personal business. It is the habitual absences that are most challenging to employers, and that can have the greatest negative effect.Corporate culture as underpinning to fight absenteeism

Investopedia explains that absenteeism is a difficult problem to tackle because there are both legitimate and poor excuses for missing work and it can be challenging for employers to effectively monitor, control and reduce absenteeism.

Having said that, one could conclude that happier employees will be able and motivated to go to work each day, resulting in increased productivity and higher morale for the individual workers as well as the entire team. 

Employers should not just take physical health and the working environment into account, but also focus on psychological health, work-home balance and economic health. 

Allow for regular breaks (away from their desks!), motivate them to do express workouts at the local gym or organise a lunchtime walk. Celebrate goals reached and reward employees for going the extra mile. Allowing work-life flexibility shows trust and facilitates balance, which in turn contributes to mental health.

These factors are built into a strong and positive corporate culture with principles like trust, recognition and mutual respect as underpinning elements. Yes, the Human Resources team does have a role to play. However, to make a real impact, top management should champion and promote these values.

Although these strategies may be expensive to implement and maintain, they can have a net positive effect on a company's bottom line – and that's good for business all round.

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