UK businesses are being hindered by lack effective sickness absence management and group cover, Aviva has reported.
Yet half of employers said they were "well equipped" to deal with long-term absence, according to Aviva's annual absence management report.
One in five employers offered private medical insurance and only 13% provided group income protection.
One in five also provided staff training to help them spot signs of stress, but more than a third relied on employees to tell them when they were unwell.
Steve Bridger, head of group risk at Aviva UK Health, said: "Sickness absence not only has a knock on effect to other employees, but adds to the business concerns of employers as a whole.
"While it is encouraging that employers are implementing preventative measures to help them control the effects of sickness absence, take-up of one of the most effective solutions - group income protection - is still relatively low."
The findings from employer responses about absences showed; 40% said someone else had to pick up the work; 27% reported productivity falls; a quarter told of financial impacts; and 21% said service standards suffered.
The report revealed that 17% of employers saw other members of staff go off sick when colleagues were off long-term.
