Presenteeism survey shows nine out of 10 staff work while sick

Presenteeism remains a persistent problem in UK organisations, research from Canada Life Group Insurance has concluded, with 90% of UK employees saying they have come into work when feeling ill, virtually unchanged on the 89% it reported last year.

Presenteeism was most commonly being driven by a high volume of work, with more than one in four (28%) employees feeling their workload was too great to call in sick.

Financial concerns (21%) and feeling guilty for taking time off (17%) were also common factors.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today and OHW+ - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Email

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

There was a distinct reluctance among employees to take time off for physical illnesses, with 54% saying they would still come into work if they had the flu and 42% even if they had a vomiting bug.

This was even more the case for mental ill health, with 80% saying they would not take time off for a stress-related illness.