Monitoring and prevention: the fight against absenteeism

THE HEALTH CRISIS AND THE WIDESPREAD ADOPTION of teleworking have widened the scope for employers to provide social support to their employees.

Previously, says Sophie Gaultier, Personal Insurance Manager at the broker Verlingue, “the majority of employees expected their employer to assume its long-standing commitment”, i.e. “to finance their health care (collective supplementary health insurance) and the consequences of a sudden work stoppage (accident cover). Once upon a time, sleeping problems, eating disorders and especially addiction were never spoken about in the office. Moreover, companies were reluctant to touch on anything private. Since then, employees have clearly demanded comprehensive, long-term support, including their families. This shift is leading companies to enhance the content of their social packages with additional services.

Cost. Before the crisis, teleconsultation and home assistance services were hardly used, but they are now being highlighted. As at La Française des Jeux, most companies that implemented a remote social and psychological monitoring service at the time of the crisis have made it a permanent fixture. The seven-day-a-week medical teleconsultation components for the whole family are very popular. With the widespread adoption of teleworking, specific psychosocial support for employees is also a necessity. Three quarters of Verlingue’s major customers ask about this issue. The Lille-based Roquette group has always been a champion in the prevention of occupational accidents, the rate of which has always been scrutinised by its manager, and the company very quickly developed and rolled out sensors to anticipate the risks associated with the isolation of teleworkers. Through its intranet, the company regularly surveys the health and morale of its employees. All the more so since at this world leader in the production of vegetable excipients, explains Francois Delforce, its French HR Director, the introduction of teleworking has revolutionised practices tainted by a strong industrial culture…