Concerns have been raised manual workers did not take part in a survey to assess their health and wellbeing.
Moray Council asked staff to complete a questionnaire so they can help employees in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
A total of 5,043 surveys were sent out to workers in June.
Of the 4,543 electronic copies, 1,193 people responded, a drop of 456 on the previous year.
Of the 900 paper copies distributed, only 58 people replied.
Health and wellbeing response poor
The issue was discussed at a meeting of the corporate committee.
SNP councillor for Elgin South Graham Leadbitter asked what could be done to get more replies from staff in departments unable to respond electronically.
He said: “I’m very conscious we have a low response in terms of paper copies, and many of our manual workforce do not access computers on a regular basis.
“There is low return from particular but significant sections of the workforce.”
Head of HR, ICT and organisational development Frances Garrow told him officers were aware of the issue and were working with trade unions to encourage uptake.
‘Always a challenge’
She said: “This is always a challenge. We had officers go down to depots handing surveys out and encouraging completion of paper surveys.
“We created a QR code so people could zap that with their mobile phone and fill the survey in.”
SNP councillor for Elgin North Jeremie Fernandes told the meeting staff from the roads, fleet and waste depot highlighted the impact of negative online posts on their health.
He said: “They read on social media that a pothole’s not repaired or bins have not been picked up on the day they said they would be.
“Those people work incredibly hard in really hard conditions.
“The employees all said comments on social media affects their mental health.”
The findings from the survey will go towards increasing awareness and improving staff training. That should help with better understanding on how to support workers’ mental health.
Conversation