July 16, 2010
Following reports that more than 120million sick days are taken every year by European employees, organisations must introduce flexible working policies to reduce staff’s need to take a ‘sickie’, leading management firms have suggested.
According to Aon Consulting, one in five UK workers feigned an illness last time they took a day off work as sick leave, costing the country’s economy billions of pounds in lost production, benefits and healthcare.
The soaring absence rate in Britain is equivalent to every worker taking at least one day off, yet only 52% of Brits take a sick day for genuine physical or mental ailment.
But, whilst many of these lies will have covered hangovers and general laziness, there are those who feel honest requests for time to care for children and loved ones would be met with a swift ‘no’.
“Employers would be well advised to tackle the issues of sickness and workplace absence, as these seriously impact efficiency and hit their balance sheets,” claims Peter Abelskamp, Aon Consulting Director of Health and Benefits.
“56% of workers say they would not feel forced to take a day as sick leave if they could just be honest and have access to flexible working hours or ‘social days’.
By giving workers the option to undertake flexible working patterns, employers can improve workplace tensions, drive up staff confidence and ultimately increase productivity. But, as Mr Abelskamp suggests, flexible working is not the only solution.
“Of course employers should also not ignore the fact that 15% of people say that more interesting work would keep them in the office,” he added. “The economic turmoil facing Europe has probably reduced the number of sick days taken, as 11% of people say the threat of redundancy would actually force them to cut down the number of days off for non-medical reasons.
“Perhaps not surprisingly, nearly a quarter of respondents say a cash incentive on top of their salary would also encourage them to come in to work.”
