Employees working in leisure, culture and sport roles generally take more sick days than any other industry, a study has argued.
The average UK employee takes off just over two-and-a-half sick days per year, but those in the leisure industry score highest (3.8) with workers in telecoms, marketing and education also featuring high in a league table of the sickliest professions, the poll by insurer There argued.
Teachers took above the national average at 3.17 days per year, while those working in the manufacturing industry or industrial labour took the fewest days off sick a year (1.59).
Those working in Government or public services took the most days off over their career, averaging 66 days.
At the other end of the scale, those working in environmental, recycling and sustainability roles had taken the fewest sick days across their career to date, 18, almost half the national average (36 days).
One-fifth (19%) of workers said that they had been injured or made ill as a direct result of doing their job, results showed. A quarter had experienced an illness that prevented them from working for a whole month or more.
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Health workers rated their boss the most strict when it came to taking sick days and also felt they were worked too hard with too few staff – 47% of health workers felt this led to them being susceptible to illness. A poll by voucher codes firm VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, meanwhile, has argued that more than three-quarters (77%) of Britons in full-time employment have taken a day off work with a fake emergency at least once during the last 12 months.
The majority said this was because of a hangover, though 23% said it was because they simply wanted a “duvet day”. A further 12% said it was to allow them to attend an interview for a new job.
