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Kevin OH is usually the first port of call for managers who are having a problem with sickness absence as they usually see us as having all the answers to anything to do with health. Speaking personally I do not manage sickness absence for my organisation - I'm not a manager and therefore do not have any direct line management responsibility. However, I do help managers to manage it! I see my role as giving the managers all the necessary information they need in order to manage - it may not necessarily be the information that they feel they want (that's the confidentiality debate!) but it is the information that they need. In my experience there is an element of driving the malingerer back to work that managers want from OH as many remain ill informed as to it's purpose. What I have tried to do is to educate the managers to take on board that they are responsible for this management aspect and that I am here to give them an objective opinion on the health and work capabilities of their members of staff. I've not known a great psychological input into the organisations where I have worked. I have involved Occupational Psychologists in a number of cases that I have worked on with a fairly good effect. The line you mention is a very thin one that we walk down. On one hand we are usually employed by an Organisation to protect their interests and are therefore seen by many other employees as part of the management structure, on the other hand as OHA's we have professional and ethical responsibilities to the workforce as our 'clients/ patients' and are usually seen by managers as firmly being on the side of the staff. There's objectivity for you! I don't think anyone has yet come up with the definitive answer but we usually get by OK. At the end of the day Sickness Absence Management is a jolly good carrot with which to encourage people to a meeting and is one of the things that the majority of managers want to know more about so that they can do something about it. I understand that the Forest OH and Safety Group is open to the public and not just OH Professionals. I firmly believe that anything that gets OH discussed and raises it's profile is a good thing. Regards, Jeremy R F Smith RGN AIIRSM BSc Hons (OHN) Occupational Health Advisor - Dover Harbour Board -----Original Message----- From: Maguire, Kevin [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 29 October 2001 09:50 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Sickness Absence In view of the Forest Occupational Health & Safety Group's flyer "IS SICKNESS ABSENCE DAMAGING YOUR BUSINESS?", and as a non OHA, I feel I can ask this question. Does not sickness absence management sounds awfully like using the OH Service in order to reduce the time taken off by employees of an organisation? I cannot help but hear an implicit "we'll drive these malingers back to work for you" As an occupational psychologist I am aware of the potential misuse of psychology in the world of work. I read that in the debates in the 70s there were accusations of 'cow psychology' (i.e. making 'contented' workers) and 'engineers of the human machinery'. One commentator considered that psychology was being used in this way in order to become legitimised and gain the rewards of working with the prevalent powerful. Is this happening in Occupational Health? I know that many OHAs reject the 'factory nurse' role and I can understand why. Where, and how, are lines drawn in this tension between being part of the management structure and protecting the health of the workers? Do experiences suggest that there is no conflict or do OHAs experience tensions with regard to this? If you feel aggrieved by this question, I apologise but I would really like to know how you deal with it. Best wishes Kevin ******************************************************************************* www.doverport.co.uk The contents of this email are confidential to the ordinary user of the email address to which it was sent and may not be copied or forwarded by anyone else. If you are not the addressee indicated in this message (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person),you should destroy this message and notify us immediately. The Dover Harbour Board do not accept legal responsibility for the accuracy or otherwise of any information contained within this electronic email (and any attachments) and any views, opinions or conclusions are that of the originator of the document and are not endorsed by the Dover Harbour Board. It is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that this email is virus free. Please advise immediately if email correspondence is not accepted by you or your employer. *******************************************************************************