Fewer sickies mean skive’s now the limit

ABSENTEEISM in the workplace has plunged in recent years to the point where hardworking employees are even shunning the great annual skive known as National Sickie Day.

That is the name given to the first Monday in February, traditionally the day when people are most likely to be off work.

Seasonal colds and flu, hangovers from celebrating the end of dry January, and going to job interviews are the main reasons.

However, 2018 was the year that National Sickie Day failed to show up, according to business support specialists ELAS Group, which analysed 9,600 employees across 135 companies.

ELAS human resources director Emma O’Leary said many employees have become aware of the day’s reputation, and endeavour to make it in: “With unemployment rates the lowest since records began in 1995 it is apparent that people want to work and need to work, and can’t afford to lose a day’s pay.”

Many workers are still averse to Mondays, with nearly double the absence rate of Fridays. “Some may simply have had too much fun at the weekend,” O’Leary said.

The number of sickness absence days has almost halved since 1993, from 7.2 to just 4.1 in 2017, official figures show, with healthier lives and “presenteeism” two reasons. Private sector absence rates are lower because workers are less likely to be paid during sickness.

O’Leary said management is better at talking to staff about absences: “Many help employees work through their issues without taking more time off, in a non-judgmental way.”

Financial stress weighs on workers with three quarters saying money worries impact them at work, according to new research from Close Brothers.

Head of financial education Jeanette Makings said: “This doesn’t just affect the individual’s financial health, it is also an issue for businesses with lower productivity, higher absenteeism and higher staff costs. Doing nothing is no longer an option.”