The latest Cabinet Office research suggests rising levels of absence among
staff in the Civil Service are the result of stress and poor management.
Figures just released for 2002 show that a total of 4,903,705 days were lost
to absence at an estimated cost of £370m – £736 per civil servant.
A rise in cases of long-term absence (lasting more than 21 days) is part of
the explanation for the increase in overall absence in 2002. The Cabinet Office
calculated that if long-term absence was cut by just 10 per cent, 268,000
working days would be made available. www.cabinet-office.gov.uk
