Too many employees are turning up to work when they have
colds and other illnesses, according to a survey by the Trades
Union Congress.
The TUC said almost 33% of respondents had struggled into work when
ill during January, and almost 50% admitted to doing so in the past
year.
Many said they did so because "they did not want to let anyone
down", although almost 20% said they could not afford to take time
off because of losing their pay.
The TUC surveyed 1,000 workers through market research company BRMB
in mid-January.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said, "We struggle to work
even when we are too ill, because we do not want to let people
down. It is all part of the long-hours culture."
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which
conducts an annual survey on employee absence, found the average
level of sickness absence among employees was 3.9%, or nine working
days for each employee every year.
The CIPD surveyed 1,330 organisations employing 1.6 million people
for its latest survey, which was published in June 2003. It found
that 59% of sickness absence was for minor illnesses, such as those
highlighted by the TUC.
Figures from the Confederation of British Industry revealed that
sickness absence from work last year was at its lowest level since
the employers' organisation started collecting records, falling 6%
compared to the previous year.
The TUC survey found that those most likely to turn up to work when
ill were in the 45-54 age group, and those least likely to struggle
in were in 16-24-year-olds. The West Midlands was the area where
you were most likely to find ill colleagues at work and the North
was the least likely.
Barber said long hours, stress, and increasing workloads were
making people ill.
The TUC is using the results of the survey to help promote its work
advice website "Worksmart", which covers the responsibilities of
workers and employers when it comes to sickness.
www.worksmart.org.uk