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AbsenceHR practice

‘Sickies’ are commonplace feature of working life

by Personnel Today 1 Jul 2006
by Personnel Today 1 Jul 2006

‘Sickies’ have become an endemic part of working life, according to a study by health benefits provider HSA, and specialist magazine Employee Benefits.

Their annual healthcare survey found 20% of the 431 employers polled claimed staff took time off work in the form of sick leave, and viewed this as a company benefit.

Individuals were most likely to take a sickie if they worked for a company employing between 501 and 1,000 employees, but were least likely to if they worked for one with between 5,001 and 10,000 staff.

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The biggest cause of sickness absence in the workplace was found to be minor ailments such as colds and flu, followed by stress.

“With factors such as sickies, stress and work-life balance all appearing as key factors for sickness absence in our survey, it is clear that it is no longer just the physical health of employees that companies have to consider, but also their psychological health, and all-round wellbeing,” said Suzanne Clarkson, head of corporate marketing at HSA.



Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

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Personnel Today
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