FUN FACTS ABOUT WORKING LIFE

Let’s round up our working week with some fun facts!

Monday is the most common day to have off sick in the UK. ELAS Business Support carried out a recent survey, which revealed that 21.4% of employees call in sick on a Monday, compared to 12.2% on a Friday.

The worst excuses for calling in sick on a Monday: (ELAS)

  • “My only pair of work trousers are in the wash”
  • “It’s my dog’s birthday and I need to arrange a party for him”
  • “The dog ate my shoes”
  • “I got arrested”
  • “I lost my PPE”
  • “I stayed out partying all night, so I need to get some sleep”
  • “My friend is on annual leave, so I can’t get a lift”
  • “I have no way to get to work”
  • “My wife earns more than me, so I have to look after the kids.”

What month is the worst day for calling in sick?

We’ve probably all heard of Blue Monday and National Sickie Day, which fall on a Monday and tend to fall in January and February, but data taken from 500 employers using e-day’s absence management shows the largest sickness absence day being the last Monday of November.

Clare Avery, HR Manager at e-days, said: “Blue Monday and National Sickie Day have become big topics of discussion every year, but in actuality, January and February are not the worst times of year.

November takes the dubious honour of having the most people call in sick. The average unplanned absence is 87 days a month, excluding weekends, creating enormous challenges – and costs – for employers.

It’s important for employers to understand their own data, employee demographics and behaviours so that they can take strategic actions to not only support employee wellbeing, but also reduce their absence costs.

If employers understand the reasons behind absences this can reduce the likelihood of this happening in future. For instance, if November is a more popular time for staff to call in sick, what is happening in the business that might increase absence issues? Is there an increase in colds and flu and if so, what steps can organisations take to ease the problems?”