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Half of all employees still report for work when ill

Nearly half of all office workers (46%) feel pressurised to come into work by their immediate managers and more than half of these again (53%) are female employees.

The “Under Pressure” study, conducted by Adecco Retail, reveals a large difference between younger and older workers: three-quarters (78%) of 16-24 year olds feel obliged to come into work when ill, compared to less than a third (30%) of those over 55.

Additionally, a third of respondents (31%) report that they feel expected to carry on working from home when they have called in sick. Worryingly, bad management is causing stress at work for half of all workers (47%) and long hours are causing workplace stress for over a third (37%). Bullying from colleagues affects one in five workers (19%), while four in ten (42%) said an overly heavy workload was affecting their wellbeing at work.

In addition, there are significant regional differences – workers in Belfast are the toughest and most likely to go to work, with nearly three-quarters (71%) never taking a sick day. Conversely, those in Plymouth are the least likely to come in all year; less than a third (31%) never take a day off due to illness.

Colds and flu is the biggest reason for keeping us off work, affecting 57% of those who have taken a sick day over the past year.

The report also looks at measures employers can take to help cut down on sick days. To stop us throwing “sickies”, over a third (38%) said being able to do flexitime would prevent this, while another third (37%) said being able to work from home would deter them from being off ill. Four in ten (42%) would like flexible working hours to cut down on the number of sick days. Over half of those polled (52%) feel employees should be rewarded for not taking time off sick.