IT managers who refuse to take the day off when they are
too sick to work could be damaging their careers, according to the
author of a report into workplace health.
"People who tend not to report illness are people who are highly
competitive and do not want to admit they are not coping," said
Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at
Lancaster University Management School.
"Their line managers might not know they are not coping and they
are going to wonder about the drop in performance."
In a survey of 1,541 UK-based managers, including 81 IT
managers, Cooper found that 66% failed to report illness to their
bosses.
A long-hours culture, too few people doing too much work, and
poor senior management were contributory factors in the incidence
of illness among those surveyed, Cooper said.
Some 68% of IT managers said they were unproductive for at least
20% of their working time due to ill health.
"The IT industry is not known for the best management practices,
and increased competition means working to deadlines," said
Cooper.
Some 60% of managers said they had suffered from illness for a
greater number of days in 2005 than they did in 2004, the Chartered
Management Institute-commissioned report, The Quality of Working
Life, found.