Millions of Europeans are at risk of seeing their family incomes shrink and face premature retirement due to a lack of support for workers with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and inadequate diagnosis of the condition. Research for Fit for Work from The Work Foundation published today (7 March) reveals that two thirds of people living with musculoskeletal disorders are primary earners in their families, yet many cannot return to work because of a lack of workplace adjustments offered by employers. On top of this, they receive little support from clinicians and healthcare systems.
Musculoskeletal disorders are the leading cause of temporary incapacity in Europe accounting for 50% of all absences of more than three days. Often the condition is not diagnosed early enough (in 40% of cases), leaving many people unable to return to work. The longer an individual is off work the less likely it is they will return, at a cost of billions of euros to the European economy. The report authors call on healthcare professionals, employers and policymakers to ensure that employment outcomes for individuals with MSDs are included as a top priority in treatment and support plans.
Launched as part of the Fit for Work Europe research programme, the Fit for Work Patient Survey shows the impact of MSDs draws on people in Belgium, Bulgaria, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the UK. The findings reveal that:
• Almost 40% of respondents said the condition has had an impact on their earnings;
• At least 57% of those not in work said their entire households relied on social support as the main source of income;
• 54.9% of people with severe MSDs said their condition prevented them from working or accessing education;
• 92.4% said that they sometimes go to work despite feeling unwell due to their condition;
• An individual who has been off work for six months or longer is 80% more likely to be out-of-work for five years;
• Over 65% said the condition had an impact on their decision to retire early.
Professor Stephen Bevan, Fit for Work Europe founding president and a director at The Work Foundation said, “The support available to individuals with musculoskeletal disorders is often insufficient to keep them in work, and some healthcare practitioners lack the appropriate experience and training to diagnose conditions early enough.
“The majority of those working with a musculoskeletal disorder surveyed cite managing symptoms and maintaining work performance levels as their top concerns in the workplace. It is clear we need healthcare professionals, employers and policymakers collaborating to better support people with musculoskeletal disorders who are willing and able to work.”
Fit for Work Europe is calling for joint engagement at the national and EU level between social welfare, healthcare and national agencies and departments. The report makes a series of recommendations for policymakers, employers, healthcare professionals and people working with musculoskeletal disorders:
• Policymakers across Europe must tackle the impact of chronic health conditions with the same rigour as diseases characterised by high mortality;
• A comprehensive national action plan must be put in place to counteract the disabling effect of MSDs;
• Employers should improve policies around staff retention and return to work, training managers to identify early symptoms of MSDs and refer individuals to appropriate specialists;
• Healthcare professionals should offer more targeted support to improve work outcomes during and after treatment, so individuals can better manage their condition;
• Individuals and employers should work together to discuss how working conditions can be adapted to better support employees to be productive and create an environment in which employee knowledge and experience are taken into consideration.
Antoniya Parvanova, MEP and Fit for Work Europe co-founding president said, “It is clear that the lack of prevention, early intervention and appropriate management of MSDs in clinical and workplace settings undermine the work productivity of millions of Europeans who want to work. Moreover, suboptimal standards of care for MSDs increase the risk of worsening the health of these individuals and has a large impact on households and society.
“Swift action is required to develop and implement policy decisions at the national level that take into consideration the benefits to society of greater prevention and early interventions across health care and welfare systems. This report confirms that investment in health can offset the burden of unnecessarily early retirement and disability in the long term.”
Coordinated action between employers and healthcare professionals, along with early diagnosis, can help individuals to better manage their conditions with the use of appropriate treatment and medication, exercise programmes, education about condition management, work counselling and work adjustments, cognitive behavioural therapy and workplace visits from clinicians.
Ends
For more information please contact:
Anna Kharbanda, media officer at The Work Foundation akharbanda@theworkfoundation.com 020 7976 3646
For urgent out-of-hours media enquiries: Nasreen Memon 07825 527 036
Notes to Editors:
1. Ksenia Zheltoukhova is available for interviews, comments and briefings. A copy of the Fit for Work Patient Survey is available from www.fitforworkeurope.eu or from the press office in advance of publication.
2. In the survey, 48.4% of respondents not in employment or education indicated that they had been primary earners of their households before leaving a paid job. The majority of those with MSDs in our survey and in paid work are the primary carers. 47% per cent of those surveyed were in managerial jobs. Within three years of diagnosis, 50% of people with rheumatoid arthritis are registered as work disabled. The majority of those surveyed have a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, spondyloarthropathy or two or more MSDs. The sample is not necessarily representative of the wider population of people with MSDs.
3. The Fit for Work EU initiative is a multi-country research and multi-stakeholder platform aiming to reduce and prevent the burden of musculoskeletal conditions (MSDs) in Europe by developing and implementing practical solutions that support people with MSDs in maintaining work or returning to work, and by seeking to drive policy and clinical practice change at country level through national industry, academic, government, and medical collaboration. The Fit for Work project team runs several work streams, including improving earlier, appropriate management of MSDs, ensuring adequate investment in the management of MSDs, establishing workability as a clinical outcome and establishing workability and work productivity as part of healthcare decision making.
For further information about the work of Fit for Work Europe in 2013 please visit www.fitforworkeurope.eu
4. Tables and key findings from the Fit for Work Patient Survey
Work
considered as an outcome of clinical treatment (p30)
| Country |
No |
Yes |
| UK |
35.0% |
65.0% |
| Spain |
77.5% |
22.5% |
| Portugal |
45.0% |
55.0% |
| Ireland |
55.9% |
44.1% |
| Bulgaria |
60.0% |
20.0% |
| Belgium |
54.5% |
45.5% |
Table 1. Workplace support
provided by the employer
| Country of residence |
Type of support provided by employer
|
|
Health Insurance
|
OH specialists
|
Flexible working arrangements
|
Ergonomic assessments
|
EAP
|
Attendance policies
|
| Belgium |
50.5%
|
36.1%
|
15.5%
|
9.3%
|
3.1%
|
32.0%
|
| Bulgaria |
93.7%
|
25.4%
|
15.9%
|
9.5%
|
1.6%
|
15.9%
|
| Ireland |
30.4%
|
26.7%
|
20.0%
|
27.4%
|
28.9%
|
52.6%
|
| Portugal |
33.3%
|
4.0%
|
8.0%
|
8.0%
|
0%
|
36.0%
|
| Spain |
18.9%
|
4.4%
|
17.8%
|
12.2%
|
5.6%
|
42.2%
|
| UK |
12.4%
|
43.0%
|
36.1%
|
41.8%
|
25.8%
|
52.6%
|
Table 17. Workplace
support received to help manage the condition
| Workplace support received |
Percentage of respondents
|
|
Country of residence
|
|
Belgium
|
Bulgaria
|
Ireland
|
Portugal
|
Spain
|
UK
|
Change
of duties |
32.4
|
30.4
|
21.7
|
12.5
|
13.6
|
24.5
|
Change
to the number of hours worked |
41.2
|
30.4
|
19.6
|
12.5
|
27.3
|
25.5
|
Change
to the pattern of hours worked |
44.1
|
26.1
|
21.7
|
18.8
|
22.7
|
30.4
|
Increase
in use of home working |
17.6
|
26.1
|
10.9
|
0.0
|
18.2
|
25.5
|
Option
to take emergency leave as needed |
8.8
|
73.9
|
19.6
|
13.8
|
36.4
|
20.6
|
Provision
of equipment or workstation adaptations |
2.9
|
13.0
|
6.5
|
25.0
|
9.1
|
7.8
|
Other
changes |
5.9
|
13.0
|
6.5
|
25.0
|
9.1
|
7.8
|
No
changes |
11.8
|
0.0
|
10.9
|
0.0
|
9.1
|
8.3
|
Table
25. Age of retirement from work
| Country of residence |
Percentage of respondents
|
|
What age did you retire from work
|
|
Under 40 years old
|
40-49
|
50-59
|
60-65
|
Over 65 years old
|
| Belgium |
0.0
|
100.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
| Bulgaria |
66.7
|
16.7
|
16.7
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
| Ireland |
7.4
|
11.1
|
37.0
|
37.0
|
7.4
|
| Portugal |
0.0
|
25.0
|
58.3
|
16.7
|
0.0
|
| Spain |
23.5
|
17.6
|
47.1
|
11.8
|
0.0
|
| UK |
3.5
|
12.4
|
54.9
|
23.9
|
5.3
|
| Total |
8.0
|
14.2
|
50.0
|
23.3
|
4.5
|
