The sickness and absenteeism debate

It?s a debate that rages in offices up and down the country between those who proudly flaunt their immaculate attendance record and those who take a sick day at the mere hint of a sniffle — if you are struck down with an illness, is it better to grin and bear it and make it into the office? Or should you spare your colleagues the risk of catching whatever ill has befallen you by staying at home?

Whichever side of the debate you fall on, recent research by employee rewards platform One4all has compiled a raft of statistics on the topic.

The Health in the Workplace Report revealed 40% of employees have not taken a single day off for illness in the last 12 months, despite 11% of people stating that they had been unwell as a result of their jobs in the last year

Nearly thirty percent of those surveyed also said that they feel under pressure from bosses to go into work even when ill.

Declan Byrne, managing director of One4all Group, said: “Many workers believe that employers don?t care about their health. Therefore it?s important that businesses take proactive steps to help employees look after their health and wellbeing.

“Those that do are likely to see the results add to their bottom line, with greater productivity, staff retention and the ability to recruit better candidates all shown to be enhanced by company health schemes.”

Read the research from One4all in full at bit.ly/1FRq0nb